Age Group: Adults

Description:

Set in 1920s Alaska, this haunting novel follows Jack and Mabel, a middle-aged couple who move to the wilderness hoping for a fresh start after the heartbreak of losing their only child. Isolated and struggling with the harsh frontier life, they impulsively build a little girl out of snow one winter evening — and wake to find her gone, with small footprints leading into the forest. Soon after, a mysterious, half-wild child named Faina begins appearing near their homestead, hunting alongside a red fox and seeming to belong entirely to the winter landscape. As Jack and Mabel slowly welcome her into their lives and hearts, they must confront the question of who — or what — Faina truly is, and what her presence will ultimately cost them. Inspired by an old Russian fairy tale, this Pulitzer Prize finalist blends magical realism with the raw beauty of the Alaskan wild in a story about grief, hope, and family.