Customer Reviews

Blizzard's Wake

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is absolutely awesome! I was on the edge of my seat not knowing what was going to happen next. If there is one book that I could suggest to you, this is it. It is suspenseful, sorrowfull, and filled with some action. When you put all three of these ingredients into a book, you got a winner, and that's what this is. Its about a family who's mom was killed by a drunk driver, Zeke Dexter. when he is released from prison after serving three of his five year sentence, the family finds Zeke at the hands of their mercy. They could kill him easily if they wanted to, or they can take him in and help him get started on his feet again. It is a book about forgiveness and finding out who you are in a time of grief and sorrow.

Teen Kate's mother died four years ago as the victim of a drunk driver, and her family has never been the same. The driver has been in jail; now he's released with a new start on life - until a blizzard brings them all together and forces them all to interact. Can Kate ever overcome her intense anger to heal? The author does an exceptional job of presenting perspectives of events from all sides in Blizzard's Wake.

when i read this book, i was so captured in the moment i didn't want to stop reading it. the author does an amazing job on bringing you into the scenes. I enjoyed this book so fondly, that i'm giving a presentation on it. I am usually a hard person to get to read, but this book was outstanding!

The book I read was called Blizzards Wake by Phyllis Reynolds Naylar. This story took place in Red River Valley, North Dakota in late winter of 1941.
Blizzards Wake is a sad story about a family that lost their mom. She was killed driving her car late at night when a drunk driver hit her. Her daughter Kate cannot move on with her life. Her brother and father struggle but move on. It has been five years since this night. The local man in a small town who killed Kate's mom went tp prison for 5 years. He gets released early for good behavior. With no place to go but back to Red River Valley. During the story their lives come together and they find a friendship in a unique way.
A huge key event in the book is a horrible blizzard that comes up with short notice. Kate's father and younger brother Jesse drive into town. The man that killed the mother was walking to him home he grew up in. Jesse and his dad got stuck in the car with no heat. The man was out walking when the blizzard moved in fast and furious.
He gets lost in the blizzard and stumbles into the stalled car of Dr. Sterling and Jesse. Kate is home alone waiting for her dad and brother. Dr. Sterling lets him in the car, He was frostbite. He recognizes the man is the guy that was driving drunk 5 years ago and killed his wife. But he does the right thing and tries to save him from dying in the blizzard..
They all get home safely. You wonder how Kate and the man that killed her mother lives come together. You are suspense, how she ever forgives Zeke Dexter. It is so sad and touching how his life and those at the woman he killed that night cross paths.
I enjoyed reading this book. It did make me sad. I couldn't guess how Kate would ever forgive Zeke for killing her mother. I think this book is for anybody who likes to think about what's going to happen next, somebody who likes surprises.

My book was based on the devastating blizzard that hit North Dakota. Many people were killed or injured. Farmers lost a lot of livestock. Many bodies were found miles away from their homes. Autopsies showed that many people suffocated or died of hyperthermia.

My book was about a young girl who lost her mother in a car accident. She was hit by a drunk driver. Kate lived with her father and her brother. Then in March when her father went out to do the doctor's calls, a blizzard hit. He was right in the drive way when the car completely stopped. He didn't want to get out of the car, because he couldn't see anything. Kate was home she was worried. It turns out that the man that killed Kate's mother was walking home and stumbled across the car. So Mr. Sterling took him in. When Kate finally came out and found them, she saw him. She hated him. He ended up staying at their house until after the storm had completely stopped. Jesse grew quite fond of him. Then Zeke got hurt. Kate was watching the dishes when she heard a shrill scream. It was Jesse. She ran out to find Zeke lying on the floor moaning and groaning. Her father ordered her and Jesse to put him on the operating table. Zeke was cutting wood and completely missed the wood and got his leg. Kate debated whether or not to mess up on the procedure she was helping with. But she decided not to. After He left it all came out of her why she was so bitter. She explained to her father that the night her mother left, she told her that she hated her. So Kate held that in all that time.

Some books like that make me cry, but for some reason it didn't make me cry. I loved it though. It was suspenseful enough to keep you reading to find out what happens. So I would recommend that children in junior high should read this.

After 4 years Kate still hasn`t gotten over her mother`s death. Caused by Zeke`s drunk driving, she pictures every single way in her mind to picture herself killing him.
Zeke just left prison on an early release, after killing woman while drinking and driving. He justs wants to get his life on the right track.
After a blizzard hits their city they somehow meet each other.
Fast paced and excellent, this is one of the best books I have ever read!!!!

Blizzard's Wake
Phyllis Renold Naylor
Atheneum
2002

A Cold Hatred

This was a story about a girl who has a lot of hate toward the man who killed her mother. This guy gets out of prison early for good behavior. The story takes a turn from that point on; you have no clue of what will happen next. This book was good because it kept me wanting to know more. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, wanting to know what would happen next. I enjoyed this book because it was thrilling and suspenseful. I recommend this book to any person who likes mysteries or suspenseful stories. This is a good book to read if you have had a family member die. I give this book 5 stars.

I absolutely loved Blizzard's Wake! It is now my favorite book because it was exactly the right genre and topic for me. Another reason is that I can relate to it. I think the reason why I can relate to this book is that my dog died in August, only two months ago. In the end of the story Kate confesses, and explains why she has had such a hard time letting go of her mother's death sand moving on. Kate's reason is the same reason that left me crying on my bed, off and on for days. I was mad at my self, feeling guilty. Just like Kate, to her mother, the last thing I said to my dog was, "I hate you!" I did not know he would pass away while I was in Texas, neither did Kate. She did not know she would never see her again after she walked out that door.
I cried in this book. It was the first book I had ever cried over. Perhaps that is another reason why I absolutely loved this book.

Blizzard's Wake was about a family containing Kate, Jesse, and Doc. Sterling, the children's father. They do not have a mother/wife because of Zeke Dexter. Kate Sterling will never forgive him for him for what he did, nor will she forgive herself.
Kate is not able to drive, not able to even go near the spot where her mother died - the tree scarred by Zeke Dexter's car. That's where it all happened. But what would happen when Kate meets Zeke Dexter, face to face, when he is supposed to be in jail? Kate would never be able to survive a day with her mother's killer, let a lone a few months! But what if she had too? What if she could do nothing about it? She would have to live with a killer . Could she become the killer?
This story is about Kate learning to forgive herself, and maybe even forgive Zeke Dexter.

You must be able to handle sadness, death, suspense, and breath taking events, that leave you sitting at the edge of your seat before you even think about picking up this book. I would suggest that girls should read this book because the main character is a girl and she has a lot of girl friends. But Kate's younger brother, Jesse is really into sports, model cars, so boys might be able to enjoy it to.
There is a couple challenging words in this book such as, negligent Homicide. That is what Zeke Dexter is sent to jail for. It was an over all great book and I hope you will give this wonderful book a try. I think that if you did you would love it too!!!!!!!!!!

"Groggy with sleep, numbed by cold."Imagine being stuck in a car, in the middle of winter, no heat, noone else, but the sound of the whirring wind. Kate Sterling is forced to face her biggest nightmare, the cause of her mother's death.

Blizzard's Wake by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is a survival story, about a young teenage girl who keeps getting haunted by Zeke Dexter, her mother's killer.

Zeke Dexter was at the wrong place at the wrong time. A drunk driver is never good news. His actions resulted in a terrible disaster, that caused a loved mother's life. Now Kate is pushed against her will and she has to live with the most hated man in Grand Forks.

The weak points of the book was that there were too many flips between characters in the begining. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor uses description, sensory images and leaves you wondering.

"The terrible awful thought that kept coming to her unbidden was that the haunting would go on until Zeke Dexter, too, was dead." This book is recommended for ages ten and above.

Will she ever forgive Zeke?

This book is sad,happy,and it struggles in some places for the characters and the reader. This is one of the best books I've read in my life. It is a book that is so exciting that it keeps you from putting it down because you never know what's going to happen next. I also like this book because it's not one of those books where it's bad at the beginning but good at the end or the books where they kind of dissapoint you at the end. This book is so good. I highly recommend you to read this, no matter how old you are.