As Simple as Snow (Alex Awards (Awards))
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

As Simple as Snow (Alex Awards (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Gregory Galloway (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


9 new from $13.88 19 used from $0.05 2 collectible from $64.50

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --   $13.88 $0.05
Audio, CD, Unabridged $29.95   $17.45 $10.86
Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged $14.68 or $7.49 with new Audible.com membership

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Feathers

Feathers

by Jacqueline Woodson
4.1 out of 5 stars (14)  $6.40
Speak

Speak

by Laurie Halse Anderson
4.5 out of 5 stars (1,232) 
Mister Pip

Mister Pip

by Lloyd Jones
4.2 out of 5 stars (75)  $10.08
The Higher Power of Lucky

The Higher Power of Lucky

by Susan Patron
4.1 out of 5 stars (82)  $6.99
Boy Meets Boy

Boy Meets Boy

by David Levithan
4.5 out of 5 stars (60)  $8.95
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It turns out that snow is "actually very complicated," and so is Galloway's quirky, engrossing debut. In a small town near a river not far from a city, the narrator, an unnamed high school sophomore, encounters new Goth arrival, Anna Cayne. Holden Caulfield meets the Blair Witch, perhaps--but our narrator is more sympathetic and Anna more fascinating than their counterparts. The narrator is unsure why anyone would pursue him ("I'm bland. I'm milk. Worse, I'm water"), but pursue him Anna does, charming him with intriguing postcards, reading recommendations and long walks by the river. He's soon completely, hopelessly in love. But halfway through the story Anna disappears, leaving the narrator and the reader feeling lost and betrayed. The book becomes a search for Anna, complete with ciphers, codes, sightings and buried maps. Does affable art teacher Mr. Devon have something to do with her disappearance? Who was really driving the night fellow student Bryce Druitt slammed his car into the side of the bridge? Galloway makes plain from the beginning that everything in the book might be a clue, and that it's up to the narrator and the reader to solve the mystery for themselves. This can be great fun or lead to great frustration, depending on one's tastes, but there's no doubt that this rich, complex puzzle is the work of a talented author. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Snow, of course, is not really simple, and this clever first novel enmeshes its characters in situations that are more complex than they first appear to be. As related by an unnamed teenage boy, the suspenseful, open-ended plot concerns strange occurrences during an eventful winter in a seemingly quiet community. The possibly unreliable narrator is struggling through a lonely and rather bland adolescence until a new girl in his school's Goth crowd becomes interested in him romantically. Anna is anything but bland: she adores wordplay, odd facts, obscure jokes, ciphers, codes, the paranormal, and practical magic (especially the escape illusions of Harry Houdini), and her hobby is drafting obituaries for everyone in town. When she suddenly goes missing and is presumed dead, her heartsick boyfriend ponders her fate. An accident, surely–or was it? Suicide? Murder? Could Anna have run away? Why was her dress laid out so neatly near a hole in the ice? What about the bruises she tried to hide? Are her parents really grieving? Could a favorite teacher be involved? Though some readers may be frustrated when most questions remain unanswered, others will find their inner Nancy Drew or Hardy Boy stimulated by the abundant ambiguities, coincidences, and clues scattered throughout. An intriguing debut.–Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Putnam Adult (March 3, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0399152318
  • ISBN-13: 978-0399152313
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #769,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Gregory Galloway
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Gregory Galloway Page
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Anna Cayne had moved here in August, just before our sophomore year in high school, but by February she had, one by one, killed eyeryone in town. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Anna Cayne, Bryce Druitt, Billy Godley, Baton Rouge, Claire Maenza, New Year's Eve, Bobby Jones, Brook Road, Town Street, Valley View Road, Doc Martens, Jack Kerouac, Kevin Hermanson, Melissa Laughner
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 7 books:
See all 7 books this book cites

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

As Simple as Snow (Alex Awards (Awards))
53% buy the item featured on this page:
As Simple as Snow (Alex Awards (Awards)) by Gregory Galloway Hardcover 4.2 out of 5 stars (16)
As Simple as Snow
37% buy
As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway Paperback 4.5 out of 5 stars (10)
$10.80
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
4% buy
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson Paperback 4.5 out of 5 stars (65)
$8.99
The Book Thief
4% buy
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Paperback 4.7 out of 5 stars (922)
$6.99
› Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(2)
(2)
(1)
Agree with these tags?

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more
 

Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Simple" and Complex, August 17, 2005
This review is from: As Simple as Snow (Alex Awards (Awards)) (Hardcover)
"As Simple as Snow" will be haunting me for a long, long time.

Some say that all stories can be narrowed down to one of two plots. This story employs the "new person moves to town" plot - but it's far more complex than that.

Anna, a high school student, is more than what she seems. She likes to write obituaries for people who are still alive - for every person in town, even though she's just moved there with her parents. She wears black clothes, black boots, dark makeup, offsetting her blond hair. She loves Lovecraft, making mix CDs, and discussing the codes Houdini and his wife shared. She can argue both sides of a debate with equal passion and knowledge, thus making it unclear which side she herself would support. She insists that people call her Anastasia.

The narrator calls her Anna. He's a high school student as well. His name is unknown; it is unimportant. What is important is their relationship. He finds himself intrigued with Anna, despite her status as a "Goth," and the two begin dating. Her ideas challenge him; her intelligence impresses him; and, seven months later, her disappearance baffles him.

Author Gregory Galloway has created a stunning and haunting tale. Just as Anna herself, this book is hard to categorize. Many would call "As Simple as Snow" a mystery, but just as many might refer to it as a coming-of-age story. The writing is engrossing, placing the reader on the same page (no pun intended) as the narrator, trying to figure out Anna herself as well the codes she used. Readers will be looking for clues in the grand design while falling for this strong, willful character and wondering why she left.

It even has an appropriately creepy website, where you may download the mix CDs Anna created and watch a unique trailer for the book. If the trailer doesn't make you want to read the book immediately, I don't know what will.

This isn't a run-of-the-mill mystery, nor a cautionary tale. It's a story about a boy, a girl, a town, a code. It's a story about that time in your life when you realize nothing is as simple as it seems. Once you realize that, you can't go back, no matter how hard you try. You can only go forward.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Can't stop thinking about this book!, March 8, 2005
By Larry Hoffer (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: As Simple as Snow (Alex Awards (Awards)) (Hardcover)
"As Simple As Snow" took me by surprise. I hadn't heard anything about it before picking the book up, but the minute I started reading it, I was hooked. The characters are believable, and the author really did capture the various social "groups" that exist in high school.

There definitely were times where I wanted to shake the narrator for his unwillingness to ask questions or take initiative, but I put myself in his place and could understand. Regardless of that, I thought the story was beautifully written and has stayed with me long after I read it.

If you read this book, get a friend to read it also. This is a book that needs to be discussed!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I have ever read, October 25, 2005
This review is from: As Simple as Snow (Alex Awards (Awards)) (Hardcover)
This book is simply amazing. I am a teen librarian and have read lots and lots of books. I have read this book four times, it is a great mystery and so brilliantly written. I have never read a book so fast and didn't want it to end. I gurantee if you read this book you will want to pass it on to somebody else to read just so you have somebody to discuss it with. I can't believe that it is not on the bestseller list. Shame on the publisher for not promoting this book more. It is AWESOME. I hope the word gets out, I know I am trying to get more people to read it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars only because I couldn't give it negative stars
I found this novel to be a pretentious piece of crap. It can't decide what it wants to be and succeeds, in that fashion, to make us recall what it is to be 15 when we couldn't... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Samantha

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting high school novel
Great story about an average guy who falls in love with a beautiful but mysterious Goth type girl in school, who kind of disappears. Or does she? Read more
Published 3 months ago by KristiP

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!
The book was in fantastic condition for it being a used item. It came so fast it was rather impressive. I would most definitely buy from this seller again. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Sarah K

3.0 out of 5 stars Simply simple
As Simple as Snow is touted as anything but simple, full of mystery and subtle sorcery. For most readers over a certain age, however, (let's place it high at 35), it's nothing... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Linda

1.0 out of 5 stars Sophomoric and Unresolved
Since the characters are sophomores in high school, I suppose that's appropriate. I found very little to redeem this novel. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Rod M. Holland

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more complex than the title
As Simple as Snow takes a close look at some humanly complex and complementary characters in this story of adolescent love. Read more
Published on July 17, 2008 by Tom W.

5.0 out of 5 stars A delicious surprise
I went out on a limb with this book. It was really outside of my comfort zone; but it did have something to do with a creepy little goth girl so I figured I'd give it a try. Read more
Published on June 20, 2006 by child of the cuckoo

5.0 out of 5 stars "Snow's not simple at all..."
This novel is easily one of the best books I've ever read. After simply reading the very first sentence of Gregory Galloway's As Simple as Snow, I was completely emersed into the... Read more
Published on February 1, 2006 by Genna Gliottoni

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
The subtle details and alternative and pop culture woven into this masterful tale make for a book I was unwilling to put down. Read more
Published on May 16, 2005 by H. Johnson

4.0 out of 5 stars What a neat story.
An eccentric girl comes into the life of our narrator. She, through her mysterious means, turns his life upside down. Read more
Published on May 3, 2005 by Peter Shermeta

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:












i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.



Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.