''As Simple As Snow'' (2005) is a mystery novel by

Gregory Galloway Gregory Galloway (born 1962) is an American fiction writer. His first novel, '' As Simple as Snow'', was released by Putnam in 2005. Though the book was meant for an adult audience, it has taken off with teen readers. Biography The son of a j ...

. It tells the story of a high-school aged narrator who meets a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

girl, Anna Cayne. Through postcards, a

shortwave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 m ...

, various mix-CDs, and other erratic interests, Cayne eventually wins the heart of the narrator. However, a week before

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

, she goes missing, leaving only a dress on the ice and secret codes to help the narrator and the reader find out where she has gone.

Overview

In a labyrinth of art, magic, cryptic codes and young love, the author presents a coming-of-age novel that seems designed to puzzle readers of all ages. Moreover, it is an adolescent's quest to unravel the clues his girlfriend may have left behind after her mysterious disappearance. The young narrator goes unnamed throughout the novel. He disparages himself initially as embarrassingly bland and inexperienced. His new girlfriend Anastasia (Anna) Cayne is instead presented as a complicated high school goth girl with a penchant for riddles and affectionate mind games. Anna spends much of her time creating

obituaries An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acco ...

for every living person in town and introducing the narrator to a wider landscape of art, music and literature. She is unlike anyone the narrator has ever known and soon finds himself enveloped in a world of

Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

tricks, strange art, covert messages, and ghost stories – although her past remains an even bigger mystery. But a week before

, Anna disappears, leaving behind nothing except a trail of mysterious clues and a string of unanswered questions. Determined to find Anna, the narrator turns amateur detective in order to piece together the elements of the preceding months. Soon the fragments of events, conversations, and letters (and new messages that continue to arrive) coalesce into haunting and surprising revelations about friends, family and especially about Anna Cayne. Perhaps these revelations will solve the puzzle of Anna's disappearance, whether her own invention, or something more sinister.

References

External links

AS SIMPLE AS SNOW
The book's website with videoclips, links, and clues
Teens , Ann Arbor District Library
aadl.org
2006 Alex Award
YALSA, American Library Association 2005 American novels American young adult novels American mystery novels 2005 debut novels {{2000s-mystery-novel-stub