''As Simple As Snow'' (2005) is a

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novel by Gregory Galloway. 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 me ...

, 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 Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

, cryptic

codes In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

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. Ac ...

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