Puffin (9+) 9780241651964 (Hardback)
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A seemingly endless winter threatens Fia’s village. She sets out on a quest to find the Deer Mother, and bring forth the winter solstice with her snow deer Solas at her side. There’s a timeless quality to the writing in this seamless verse novel. Readers are taken on a real journey from darkness into light and feel every icy moment of the hardships encountered along the way.
The ancient feel of the story of Fia and Solas the snow deer is significantly enhanced by the striking and unique illustrations. Subtle body-language and eye contact really capture the closeness of their relationship. There’s an aesthetic and technical brilliance in the use of light and dark with white space being used to great effect to simultaneously represent snow and make pops of colour feel both vital and warm. Paleolithic art aesthetics help evoke place and time, and a pervading sense of the cold lingers throughout
Themes:
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Dermot Flynn is originally from Ireland, where he studied at Dublin’s NCAD. En route to London, he completed his MA at the University of Brighton. He now teaches and works as a freelance illustrator for clients such as Publicis, Target USA, the Guardian, The Irish Times, Carton LeVert, McCann, DDB, Dentsu, 180 Amsterdam and Adidas. In his spare time he plays the cello, cycles and skates around London.
Eilish Fisher grew up in a 200-year-old haunted farmhouse in the Vermont, but has lived most of her life in Ireland so considers herself both a Vermonter and Irish and brings the legends and history of both to her writing. She has Degree in English, History and Medieval Irish Studies, a Master’s degree in Early Medieval Irish History and Literature and a Doctorate in Medieval English Literature from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUI Maynooth). She has also received both a Words Ireland mentorship and a full Literary Bursary Award from the Arts Council of Ireland.
I love the book ! It's a powerful and beautiful tale of a girher snow deer, born under the same moon, and the magical prophecy that ties them together. The bond they have is so special and I love how fia makes it her mission to help the snow deer, my favourite characteristics definitely the snow deer and I would 100% recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy, adventure and thrilling
Jemimah
Teen Book Club
I think this book was amazing. I loved every last detail. The writing was amazing and the connection between human and animal in this was incredibly sweet. My only con for reading this book is that the ending felt quite rushed, although everything else really did make up for it. 4 1/2 stars!
rida
HGS Book Club
Fia and the Snowdeer was an exciting journey narrative. I loved the fact that Fia meets a lot of obstacles before she brings the light to her world. The book is written in poetic form which I though was unusual.
TARAN SANDHU
Seva Reading Group
Overall, this was a great book featuring Irish myths and folklore, something that I've never come across in literature. These themes make it a unique book, and it maintains a level of excitability despite the characters walking in a seemingly endless winter forest. A lovely book!
Noor
HGS Book Club
The Snow Deer is a beautiful and mystical prehistoric tale, brought to life with delightful illustrations. I very much enjoyed reading this book, especially its verse form, which gives the story a timeless, almost lyrical quality. It’s a lovely winter read—perfect for enjoying while snuggled up under a blanket (log fire optional).
Celine
Sandroyd Bookivores
An amazing book with a really good setting. it has a lot of adventure and lots of great vocabulary I would give it a 6/10
Shirel
Hasmonean Pages
Handles more adult themes like deah and the after life really well. It sends a good message about even if your angry with family, you still love them. The journey to the 'The Deer Mother' was fun but the ending of actually finding her home was rushed.
Aharon
Belsize Stories
Fia and the Last Snow Deer is quite good. I love how the bonds (both between animals and people) is heart warming and the story is excellent. The detailing of the old Irish land adds a distinct sense of Celtic cultures but as we look at this it feels more entwined with the Stone Age rather than the Iron Age while still incorporating a Celtic feel of gods that is commonly seen in Irish based literature. The Stone Age and Iron Age blend is incredible and the characters progression is also beautiful. This is really a gripping tale of sacrifice and familial love. Though I usually aim for complex plotted books I loved the simple and easy plot of it. However for the in book timespan, Flynn had me so fixated on the characters and story it really surprised me when I was at the end thinking this book shows only a few days and it has been drawn out so long but you barley notice it was genius. I think it being short has inspired this simple plot which makes this an easy going story (and therefore not what I usually would read) really interesting me and if it had been much longer I believe it would get more tied up but the journey to get to the deer mother (at least when looking back) was a bit stretched. But this did not deter me when reading as it was just as good as ever feeling almost like a journey over a few weeks or months. Overall very good book loved it.
Drupta
HGS Book Club
My thoughts on this book is that it is a little slow paced especially in the middle(the part where Fia,Solas and Mish are travelling)to the point where it gets a bit repetitive and I didn't really Fia's character in the beginning where I felt she was a bit rude but towards the end I started to like her character.The ending was satisfying in my opinion.On a positive note,I liked the layout of the book very much,it felt easy to read(so easy that I read the whole book in 4 days!),but if you do not like pictures this is not the book for you because there is a lot of pictures,I also liked the shadows and the deer antler plot,I did feel a bit scared when I thought Mish and Solas were going to meet their fate. Overall,I enjoyed the book very much and I would give it an 8.5/10.
Lucia
SHHS shadows
The book "Fia and the Last Snow Deer" was a great tale that is my favourite book I have read so far on my 'shadowing journey'. This is a very accessible book for people that may be dealing with learning difficulties such as dyslexia because the layout of the words and the font in the book is very clear and easy to read, which makes it a very good nominee for these Carnegie Awards! I also think that the plot is fabulous as it has a close not just emotional connection with a special, one-of-a-kind animal but there are strong themes and feelings of a spiritual connection which is part of one of the morals of the story. My section of the storyline was the part where Fia realises that family isn't just about competition and rivalry but also about a deep connection deep beyond the human core. In summary, this book is a fantastic book sheerly due to how such a fantastical (as in fantasy) sequence of paragraphs can not only have a resemblance in the fictional world but the real world also which helps the audience connect deep-feelingly with the metaphorical events within the novel.
Maryam
HGS Book Club