As Simple as Snow (Alex Awards (Awards)) (ISBN 0399152318)

"Simple" and Complex:
"As Simple as Snow" will be haunting me for a long, long time. Some say that all stories can be narrowed down to one of two plots. This story employs the "new person moves to town" plot - but it's far more complex than that. Anna, a high school student, is more than what she seems. She likes to write obituaries for people who are still alive - for every person in town, even though she's just moved there with her parents. She wears black clothes, black boots, dark makeup, offsetting her blond hair. She loves Lovecraft, making mix CDs, and discussing the codes Houdini and his wife shared. She can argue both sides of a debate with equal passion and knowledge, thus making it unclear which side she herself would support. She insists that people call her Anastasia. The narrator calls her Anna. He's a high school student as well. His name is unknown; it is unimportant. What is important is their relationship. He finds himself intrigued with Anna, despite her status as a "Goth," and the two begin dating. Her ideas challenge him; her intelligence impresses him; and, seven months later, her disappearance baffles him. Author Gregory Galloway has created a stunning and haunting tale. Just as Anna herself, this book is hard to categorize. Many would call "As Simple as Snow" a mystery, but just as many might refer to it as a coming-of-age story. The writing is engrossing, placing the reader on the same page (no pun intended) as the narrator, trying to figure out Anna herself as well the codes she used. Readers will be looking for clues in the grand design while falling for this strong, willful character and wondering why she left. It even has an appropriately creepy website, where you may download the mix CDs Anna created and watch a unique trailer for the book. If the trailer doesn't make you want to read the book immediately, I don't know what will. This isn't a run-of-the-mill mystery, nor a cautionary tale. It's a story about a boy, a girl, a town, a code. It's a story about that time in your life when you realize nothing is as simple as it seems. Once you realize that, you can't go back, no matter how hard you try. You can only go forward.

One of the best books I have ever read:
This book is simply amazing. I am a teen librarian and have read lots and lots of books. I have read this book four times, it is a great mystery and so brilliantly written. I have never read a book so fast and didn't want it to end. I gurantee if you read this book you will want to pass it on to somebody else to read just so you have somebody to discuss it with. I can't believe that it is not on the bestseller list. Shame on the publisher for not promoting this book more. It is AWESOME. I hope the word gets out, I know I am trying to get more people to read it.

"Snow's not simple at all...":
This novel is easily one of the best books I've ever read. After simply reading the very first sentence of Gregory Galloway's As Simple as Snow, I was completely emersed into the story and the mystery that is Anna Cayne. This aspect of mystery layered with the awkwardness of adolescence, which we can all relate to, makes this book an instant classic and forces the reader to open one's mind and heart to the characters and their distinctive personalities. Galloway's simple, yet amazingly complex, prose guides the reader through each page allowing just enough fact to slip through the clouded surface to make the story a different experience for everyone. In the story, an unnamed boy falls in love with a girl, Anna Cayne, who changes his life and then disappears. Our unnamed narrator is then left to deal with the grief and frustration of her disappearance and forces to ask the question, "what now?". The characters succeed in bringing life to the story in a way that anyone who has suffered through high school can relate to and for once, does not glorify the jocks and preps, but focuses on the loners, the kids who stay on the outskirts and watch from the sidelines. I loved this about it because I could relate exactly to what the characters were saying and the ways that they were acting. Not many books focus on these "average" types of characters so it was a breath of fresh air compared to the other coming-of-age novels that are out today. I reccommend this novel to anyone who wants to expand their mind and just read a touching story about a boy who loves a girl. I give it an A++++++.

A delicious surprise:
I went out on a limb with this book. It was really outside of my comfort zone; but it did have something to do with a creepy little goth girl so I figured I'd give it a try. IT WAS PHENOMENAL! I have never once read a book that provoked so much catharsis from me. At more than one point in this journey I cried. But don't worry about what I have to say about this book...just take a chance and read it!

Much more complex than the title:
As Simple as Snow takes a close look at some humanly complex and complementary characters in this story of adolescent love. Recommended for those who enjoy examining typical teen life and its varied expressions. Quick and fun, engaging characters and a twist at the end make this a great read.