Review: Snowhook

Author: Jo Storm

Started reading: September 20th 2018

Finished the book: September 29th 2018

Pages: 288

Genres: Teens, YA

Published: January 26th 2019

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads score: Not enough ratings

My score:

Synopsis
At first, when a massive ice storm traps fourteen-year-old Hannah and her family in a remote cabin, it feels like a game to practise the survival skills she's been learning. That all changes when an accident leaves her mother desperately low on insulin. With no power and no way to contact the outside world, Hannah steals away with the four family dogs tied to an old dog sled.

All she has to do is make it to the nearest cabin and find a working phone to save the day. But a wrong turn and worsening weather leave her in grave danger and saddled with an unexpected passenger. Hannah must use all her skills and resourcefulness to get help for her family — before they all freeze to death in the wilderness.

My thoughts

Snowhook is like something I have never read before, and it is unique in its genre. It's nice to read this book, about the dogs and the sled, it was educational. I'm just not sure if this book is even enjoyable for Teens/YA. It feels like a lot of things are made up during the writing to make the story exciting. I was never scared or afraid for the main character and the story overall felt like something that could've been avoided easily...

Pros

• Unique: Like I said; the book is unique in its genre. I have read a lot of books, but not one about dogs and the sleds and I actually learned a lot about it. I could definitely read that Jo Storm did her research or maybe already knew a lot about this.
• Hannah: She is fierce! I love how passionate this 14 year old is. Also the fact that she is very positive and always tries to find a solution is something that is nice to read in a character. It's nice that she also has her quirks, like having a big mouth and being a bit stubborn. It makes her character believable.

Cons

• Long: The book felt SO long. When I started writing this review I saw it was "only" 288 pages. It definitely felt much longer. Maybe because the surroundings were described with a lot of details and sometimes I felt that it was unnecessary for that certain part in the book.
• Unlikely: The story felt SO unlikely. A girl taking off to get her mother insulin, to help her family. Hannah is gone for a pretty long time and it was so unlikely to me that no one tried to find her even that first day already...
• Electronics: Why are there no electronics like cell phones or stuff like that? I don't know what year it is in this book, but were living in 2018, everybody has a mobile phone? Or is there no reception? It was a big question throughout the book for me.
• Tension: I felt like the things happening in this book were just to give it some tension and that some of those things were made up while writing. It was just way too much to be happening to one girl. Hannah is very unlucky in this story and it didn't feel believable anymore ate one point.

Overall

Don't get me wrong: The writing was not bad and the biggest pro was Hannah's character. This book just didn't catch me. I always wonder if I'm too old, but I'm not really sure if any teen would like this story. I haven't seen that much reviews, so I'm very curious how the community will welcome this book. This just wasn't a hit for me, sorry.

Thanks for reading!

I'd love to talk books, so let me know what you think about this book/review.