from amazon.com:
A solitary New Jersey librarian whose favorite book is a guide to suicide methods is struck by lightning in Alice Hoffman's superb novel, The Ice Queen. Orphaned at the age of eight after angrily wishing she would never see her mother again, our heroine found herself frozen emotionally: "I was the child who stomped her feet and made a single wish and in so doing ended the whole world‹my world, at any rate." Her brother Ned solved the pain of their mother's death by becoming a meteorologist: applying reason and logic to bad weather. Eventually, he invites our heroine to move down to Florida, where he teaches at a university. Here, while trying to swat a fly, she is struck by lightning (the resulting neurological damage includes an inability to see the color red). Orlon County turns out to receive two thirds of all the lightning strikes in Florida each year, and our heroine soon becomes drawn into the mysteries of lightning: the withering of trees and landscape near a strike, the medical traumas and odd new abilities of victims, the myths of renewal. Although a recluse, she becomes fascinated by a legendary local farmer nicknamed Lazarus Jones, said to have beaten death after a lightning strike: to have seen the other side and come back. The burning match to her cool reserve--her personal unguided tour through Hades - Lazarus will prove to be the talisman that restores her to girlhood innocence and possibility.

This book will start its travels via my Weather/Water/Seasons bookbox - enjoy!

Selecting from the Weather/Water/Seasons bookbox. Thanks for including me.

This was at first rather difficult to get into as I had a distinct dislike for the main character despite her unfortunate childhood experiences. There were times when I just wanted to grab her and shake some type of reaction from her. However as the story progressed and I got to know her better, I found myself rooting for her awakening as she started to allow herself to feel once again.

Sending off to Lisa who selected it from a VBB at BookObsessed.

Got this book in the mail while I was on vacation. Will read soon.

A decent read but kind of strange. The whole lightning strike survivor thing was a unique storyline and I got into it more at the end.

Putting in Everybook VBB at BookObsessed.com.

Removing from Everybook VBB at BookObsessed.com.

Putting in JennyC1230's ABC Bookbox.

Came to me in JennyC1230's ABC bookbox. Made a short stay in Colorado before heading out again.

I chose this book from JennyC1230's ABC bookbox. Looks interesting!

WELCOME TO BOOKCROSSING Congratulations! You found a traveling book! This book has been set free. It is yours to keep or share. Please take a moment to make a journal entry to let me know the book has found a new home.

In the mail to BC friend bookczuk.

This book fetched up in today's mail. Thanks so much for thinking of me!

I feel really guilty, I normally love Alice Hoffman's writing, but this book just didn't engage me. Not that the writing wasn't good, or that the ideas were ambiguous or that the imagery was missing -- it just didn't capture me. When over halfway into the I didn't like or care about any of the characters, I started skim-reading. I caught many of the fairytale references and could have a willing suspension of disbelief on some things that happen in the story. Even so, I found it a bit too melancholy for my tastes.

To the finder of this book:

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