Snowed In

Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne

Ashleigh Sneaux’s parents are getting divorced and her mother has whisked her away to a quaint frozen island in the great lakes.  In the tiny community it doesn’t take long to acquire a new self-proclaimed best friend, Nathalie.  It also doesn’t take long to fall for a handsome lumberjack type.  Of course, it is a bit awkward that he turns out to be Nathalie’s boyfriend, but this is a teen romance and if the tension isn’t between the boy and the girl, it’s got to come from somwhere!  While I didn’t get a sense of any real depth to the characters, the story was charming and pleasant and especially nice to read if you happen to be in a wintery wonderland (or wish you were!)

This is really a pretty PG rated romance novel.  There’s certainly dating and kissing, but the raciest the kissing gets is sitting on someone’s lap.  No worries about hot bodies pressed together or tongues probing in this one.  Definitely an option for girls who want all the grown-up feeling of reading a romance but aren’t ready for the hot and heavy stuff.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – Dad and Mom are getting divorced.  There is some kissing and hand holding.  The term “hooking up” is used, but given the context seems to me “getting together” or “making out” and not the more carnal application it’s often used in these days.  There is some enthusiastic making out.  People cheat in relationships.
Profanity – “hell”, “bitch,”
Death, Violence and Gore – The main character is really into horror movies and is often scared of serial killers or bad things happening, but there’s nothing actually violent or scary.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – One girl compares dating to being at a wine tasting, but she does say she’s never been to a wine tasting.
Frightening or Intense Things – Some bats fly at Ashleigh and there’s a power outage, other than that, nothing scary.