Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John Review

Treasures of the Snow is a Christian fiction book by Patricia St. John that is 228 pages long. This book is about a girl named Annette and a boy named Lucien who learn about forgiveness and the peace that knowing the Savior brings.

Annette is given a very special Christmas present on a very tragic day. After walking home from church, she is met by her solemn-looking father. They rush to their house and Annette finds that her mother is gravely ill. Her mother gives Annette the gift and an important responsibility of a little baby brother named Daniel. He grows up to be a cheerful and slightly spoiled boy who is strong and loved by his older sister, father, and grandmother who comes to help take care of Daniel, or Dani.

Lucien is a boy who doesn’t do well and school and mostly keeps to himself. He is very jealous of Annette, who excels in her studies and everything she does. One day, as he is hurrying to school lost in his thoughts he accidentally bumps Annette’s sled. He jumps down to help, but Annette is infuriated. She yells at him and goes to school with tears streaming down her face, determined to make Lucien miserable.

They begin an unsavory game to see how bad they can make the other feel, and it snowballs into a terrible event. Lucien gets to Dani alone and dangles his beloved kitten over a cliff. When he drops it, Dani dives after the kitten, and Lucien fears that he killed the boy. He runs home, miserable and heartbroken. When Annette and his mother finds out of Lucien’s terrible deed, they rush to find the child. Dani ends up being found alive, but seriously wounded in his leg. The doctors declare that he will never walk properly again.

Annette becomes bitter and unforgiving towards Lucien. She resolves in her heart to get her revenge. Little does she know of Lucien’s sorrow and the agony he faces of being shunned by the whole community. He meets an old man secluded from the town, and they become close friends because of their mutual love of carving wood. Lucien tries to make amends with Dani by making him fine wood toys, but Annette always gets in the way. The hatred in her heart builds until she breaks a fine wooden horse that Lucien had made for a fair, but her conscience reprimands her when Dani discovers the wooden animals that Lucien had made and when her entry for the fair wins.

Will Annette accept Jesus into her heart and forgive Lucien? Will Dani ever walk properly again? Will Lucien ever be loved?

I highly recommend this book. It has a wonderful message of forgiveness and has characters that are realistic and heartwarming. The book can be a little bit boring at times, but all in all it is a great read.

God Bless,