The Sharp Edge of Snowflake, Sif Sigmarsdóttir, Pan Macmillan: ISPN: 9781444935301
HE Sharp End of a Snowflake, by Sif Sigmarsdottir, was an easy read. However, in my opinion, it fell short in living up to its title as a feminist young adult thriller.
While the book featured two, female protagonists – Hannah Eiríksdóttir and Imogen Collins – their characters came across as bland, superficial and self-absorbed.
These characters – and the novel as a whole – sadly did not move or inspire me.
As early as chapter two Imogen claims to adore and love her roommate because she is ‘quiet’ and can cook. “What more do you need in a partner?” she asks, while thinking that if the friend had been a man, she would date them in a heartbeat. This, coming from a female author?
Then there’s Hannah’s love interest, which not only felt forced and unnecessary but was just dangled there and not fleshed out.
The book touches on a few sensitive topics, such as sexual assault, mental illness, identity, victim-hood and social media. With regards to the latter, the primary focus seemed to be the negative aspects of social media and this came across as preachy and biased.
The author dedicated pages to describe some of the girls’ social media posts. For me, that just broke the flow of the book and did not add anything substantial. More time and effort could have been directed elsewhere.
Also, I feel the author only briefly touched on the other subjects and did not really provide any in-depth insight into the concepts. It felt as if they were just thrown in there to create conflict for the storyline and to be used as footnotes for relevance and/or clout.
Additionally, there was very little thrill.
The book failed to push me to the edge of my seat.
In the 364-page-novel, the lives of Hannah and Imogen, who are each battling their own demons, collide after the body of a man is discovered on the outskirts of the snowy small town in Iceland. And while the news of the man’s death has rocked the sleepy, tight-knit community, Hannah, who has just moved there to work for her father, as a journalist at the local newspaper, is convinced there is an even bigger story behind the man’s death.
However, her father refuses to let her work on the story and instead, assigns her to do a profile on Imogen, a well-known social media influencer who has also recently moved to the area.
As the story progresses, the reader discovers that Imogen had motive to kill the man. Is Imogen guilty?
Hannah is determined to uncover the truth – even if that means facing her demons and risking her last chance at a normal life. – Mariclair Smit 2/5 stars
