Amy Snow is an emotional roller coaster of a read: a riddle that delivers a new revelation with each letter Amy uncovers.
“Amy Snow- Open the letter. Unlock the secret”, the cover beckons the reader. It’s often the journey and not the destination that lends meaning to our lives, was truly said by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This book is a journey undertaken by Amy Snow, the abandoned child found in snow at Hatville by an eight year old, feisty Aurelia. Even though the treasure’s hint is dropped into the mind of the reader much before Amy has a hint of it, it does remain a journey worth undertaking!
Set in the 1800s, it is a book that would surely have made the author do quite a bit of research, before she could venture on such a journey by herself. Certain books have the power to take you along with them, as the story progresses. This is one such book.
The reader gets to explore Twickenham, Bath, York and most importantly, a glimpse into the society of that time. It’s surprising how it draws similarities with the present times. Strangely, not much has changed when it comes to the society that we live in or the views of those who form the ‘society’.
Unwelcome and harshly treated, Amy grows under the wings of Aurelia, the bold Vennaway (her family name) who is not one to be tamed, as much as her family thinks they can. She is amongst those high-society people who look beyond the riches, clothes, balls, wealthy suitors that accompany a rich life. She is a high-spirited, stubborn, fierce and kind-hearted girl with a desire to break apart from the shackles that tied her to the lifestyle and home that she was born into. Was Amy her answer?
Amy Snow
Tracy Rees
Publisher: Hachette India
Pages: 567; Price: Rs 499
She dreamt of being set free and being able to travel the world and in the process, do good and contribute something to the world that she was a part of. But then as always, destiny had other plans. Aurelia dies. Her heart isn’t as strong as her spirit. It gives her away. Or so Amy thinks. Aurelia went but not before she set a treasure hunt for her ‘little bird’. The moment she died, Amy knew her time in that house was up as well. She leaves after Aurelia’s will is read out.
Still in mourning and unable to make sense of the departure of her dearest friend, elder sister and companion, Amy is broken. But before she could even mourn the loss that she always dreaded, there she was- pushed into another treasure hunt which Aurelia often arranged for young Amy – this time the final one. Little did she know that this quest was entirely going to change her life.
Amy’s journey is worth reading. It is worth a read for every young woman out there. It inspires the reader to live life in all its sad-sweet glory. It is a tale of breaking away from the prejudices, being bold enough to face the world.
The characters of the book are representatives of people we end up meeting in our lives. Warmth of some, inquisitiveness of others, clear apathetic behaviour of yet others, has been well described. It also peeks into the high-class society’s balls and other gatherings and the talks that follow.
Although the story sometimes feels too unrealistic, it does take one along nevertheless, gripping them until the end, when all loose threads are finally tied together. In life’s strange yet splendorous way, Amy manages to learn about Aurelia’s life post her death, more than she could ever have known when she was alive. The letters she left for Amy were delightful, yet bore melancholy that can make the reader feel as Amy would have, while she read those letters.
Does Amy remain a shadow of her saviour even after she leaves? Or does she find her own place under the sun? Will a girl, with an unknown story of her birth, be able to win hearts at places she never has been before but only known because of the letters Aurelia wrote to her while she was still alive?
There are questions that tug at the reader’s heart and then there are the answers… answers that remain with the reader, long after the story is over.
