taylor Snow Angels

O'Nan sets up the story in a small town in Pennsylvania called Butler. From the start of the book you feel as if you’re in the novel. A master piece of writing is how I would describe the writing style in Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan, I appreciated how well O'Nan creates the moment, how every single part seems so real. Arthur the main character, challenges his ability to accept what he is given and moves on. He shows the confusion a teenager feels when their parents go thru a divorce, fall in love for the first time, and the aftermath of being in the right place at the right time which leads you to something so wrong.

The title interested me, and after I read the first couple of pages I was hooked. At first, I was amused by the  high school life of Arthur Parkinson. Unlike the other characters I was able to make a connection with him because I am a high school student. I also liked the turn the story had, I feel like in any small town tragedy you find more twists and turns than you would have ever expect.

Snow Angels opens with the sound of distant gunshots interrupting band practice at a high school where Arthur Parkinson discovers his childhood babysitter, Annie Marchand, who was shot. Her murder, which happens to be the last of a series of tragedies is reflected upon threw out the novel, Arthur then flashbacks back to the series of mistakes that led Annie to her death.

I liked how Snow Angels focused on the aftermath of two failed marriages. O'Nan has a very simple style, but his characters are not very reflective. Stewart chooses just the right details and dialogues throughout the story so nothing is a waste of text, which lead to me wanting to keep reading. I did not really get a complete picture of any of the characters, but I felt as if the characters came alive thru the action and dialogue not as a sketch. Because the novel lacked this, it made it hard to connect with the characters.

The way O'Nan tells the story is through the eyes of Arthur, whose life intersects occasionally with Annie and her family. The story being told in two perspectives was confusing at parts and somewhat hard to comprehend. Even though you know the final outcome from the novel's opening pages, Arthur Parkinson's version, teaches us how living in a small town isn’t the easiest because everyone finds out everything. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a quick read that is filled with so much.