Snow Angels by Jeff Lemire

Published digitally by Amazon Original Stories on February 16, 2021

“Snow Angels” is an entry in Amazon’s series of original short stories. The protagonist is Milliken, a girl who is almost thirteen. She longs to be sixteen so she can embark on a rite of passage. As sixteen, she will be allowed to skate beyond the Bend and into the Forbidden Territory, where she will see the First Gift left by the Colden Ones. This sounds like a YA plot and Amazon has labeled it accordingly.

Matt Lemire recounts a mythology with which Milliken was raised. Long ago, the Colden Ones walked the ice. They used their giant tools to dig a trench for safety and then created the Trenchfolk from themselves. Milliken and the other Trenchfolk now dwell in the trench.

Having learned to hunt, Milliken sets out to see the First Gift because she’s a precocious tween and screw waiting. She discovers truths that will make her rethink the mythology with which she was raised. The meaning of what she learns isn’t entirely clear, due in part to the story’s limited focus. This is more the concept of a story than a fleshed-out product.

From browsing Amazon, I note that Lemire is creating a ten-issue comic book series based on the same concept. I imagine the story is a teaser for that series. I also imagine the series will be better than the story.

I found myself rethinking the story after I read it. Most of my thoughts began with the question why. Why do families wait until children are sixteen to reveal the truth of their existence? What is the point of the mythology? The fact that the story made me think at all (granted, I was driving somewhere and didn’t have much else to think about) is probably a reason to recommend the story to a YA audience. The fact that I couldn’t arrive at satisfactory answers creates reservations about that recommendation. Comic book fans might want to wait for the graphic version.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS