Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

Twelve year old Nicky Dillon knows that if one thing was different, one little thing, the new born baby would have died cold and alone in the woods. She thought about how one change in their behavior could have been the difference between life and death for the baby. Just like one change in the family’s activities on the day her mother and baby sister were killed in a car accident would have made the same life and death difference. Nicky takes their discovery as a sign. Her father, Robert Dillon, who saves the baby during their daily walk in the snowy woods, does not.

Nicky wants to keep the baby, not as a replacement for her lost baby sister, but to help heal them as a family. After the accident, her father hastily moved them from New York to Shepherd, a remote town in New Hampshire. He does so to find peace and personal solace. Yet, Nicky, who had to leave everything familiar behind, has to cope with the loss of her mother and baby sister and in many ways, the loss of her father as well. While Nicky still hurts over their deaths, she wants to move forward with life, but her father only wants to stay buried in the past. She believes the addition of another family member who needs them, like the baby they rescued, may help their impasse.

Things become more emotionally complicated for both of them when Charlotte, the teenage mother of the abandon baby, shows up on their doorstep. Because of unexpected circumstances, she must stay with them for a few days and during this time they find out more about Charlotte and the conditions leading up to the child’s abandonment. However, Nicky and Robert must also contend with the police detective that is investigating the case. He is looking for the parents of the abandoned child in order to bring criminal charges. Nicky can tell that her father is softening his stance towards Charlotte, but he must also do what’s right in the eyes of the law.

As Nicky realizes that she, her father, Charlotte and the newborn will always be connected, she also believes that somehow they can stay together as a family. She is willing to try anything in order to feel like she has a real family again and because of her attempts, her father comes to understand that she can’t do it alone.

This title, Light on Snow by Anita Shreve, is a true character driven drama. The story is slow-paced, a statement that does not necessarily translate negatively, but readers who love plot driven stories should still take note. It is also told in first person by adult Nicky, so the voice of the character fluctuates between a twelve year old and her adult counterpart.

The author does a good job conveying the loneliness of the father and daughter, as well as their difficulty coping in their new life. However, she does it in a way that does not solicit pity for the characters, but elicits understanding and perhaps a quiet reflection of issues of life, death and family. In addition, the simplicity of the story alleviates the heaviness of the storyline, making it easier to keep turning the pages. Hopefully, invested readers will get all the way to the end because it truly is an interesting read.