Book Beginnings: Shoveling Snow by Brett Sills

Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.

"....And, oh yeah, your mother can be a real asshole," Ben's father said, like he forgot to put it on a grocery list. A simple aside. Just like that.

Title: Snoveling Snow
Author: Brett Sills
ASIN: B00JHLY7A2
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services/2014
Pages: 225

Each of the four main characters in this novel, is running away from his/her problems in one way or another. Each one of them of them needs to figure out how to cope with the devastating pitfalls of life, and face it as bravely as one can. 

Ben has grown up in a cold place and in his adult life he moves to a warmer place. However, as soon as he faces problems in his relationship, he runs away to a cold place to escape from it all. His landlady's daughter, Smoof is only 10 years old and is not an endearing child at that. She is bitter about life and always stays away from people by her attitudes and actions. One of her teachers, Rose wants to get close to the child but Smoof does not let her. Smoof's mother Maggie is so much wrapped in her grief that she forgets to take care of her daughter.

All these people are brought together and although Ben tries to stay away from Smoof, slowly he is drawn into her world. Interacting with her, he comes to terms with his own life and knows that he has to go back. But tragedy strikes and Smoof needs him in her own way.

Three adults. A child. An independent child. Brett Sills has written a beautiful novel about relationship, choices and consequences of those choices. The writing is uncomplicated and flows beautifully. It is not a fairy tale but a very real story of loss, fear, anger, forgiveness, acceptance, letting go and moving on.