DNF at 26%. As I am forced to provide a star rating, I have attributed one star for the sake of Netgalley’s requirements.

While I was determined to read this book and see if the, so far, mostly negative reviews held merit in my perspective, I just can’t.

The sexual objectification of children, while only a few lines, is horrifying and ultimately, unnecessary to the (or any) story.

The writing style is difficult to follow, jumping between Ruby & Fiona’s viewpoint without preamble. It also jumps back and forward in time without notice making it hard to follow where we are in the story.

Fiona is struggling with her mental health, but we don’t get told up to the 26% (where I ended this) much about it. I could not connect with her character who feels cold and overly judgmental. Maybe this changes as the book progresses… I can’t say.

Ultimately, not for me.

<I>Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, for this digital arc of LAST WINTER in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. </i>

I could not finish this one. I found it confusing to follow the timelines, and often found myself questioning if I was reading before or after the event (and the MC is unreliable, so I went in expecting not to trust what she is experiencing, but this took it to a level that I couldn’t follow). There are lots of trigger warnings for this one, and those triggers in the story made me uncomfortable, and pulled me out of the story. If you decide to try this one, look up triggers before you dig in, so you aren’t surprised. The marketing compared this to “Beartown” and “The Great Alone”, and I loved both of those novels. Sadly, it’s “Last Winter” didn’t come close to either, in my opinion.

Grim but good: was happy to include this in the January 2023 edition of Critics' Picks, the regular round-up highlighting personal favourite recent recommended reads. For the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (mini-review at link)

I always finish books that I start but I had to lay this one down for good at 50%.
The book is narrated by an unreliable, mentally unstable mother and her selectively mute and bullied daughter, Ruby. The dad and a group of kids get caught in an avalanche and Ruby decides to try to save them. The story could have been very interesting but was completely bogged down in toilet humor (without the humor), inappropriate nudity, crude behaviors, and an overall environment of ickiness! The plot is triggering for anyone disturbed by the sexualization of minors, minors witnessing adults having sex, and rape.
Honestly, I'm surprised that it made its way to publication.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

***** ANYONE THAT IS EASILY TRIGGERED SHOULD SKIP THIS BOOK *****

Before I started Last Winter , I checked the reviews on Goodreads and it was only at about 1.7 stars with many readers DNF'ing early on. Since I was committed to reading the novel, I was expecting a pile of crap. This was such a great book, well written, well paced, all the details were managed with finesse.

There were 2 POV's, the first of a mother, Fiona, who is bi-polar but using alcohol to self medicate, and on a lesser scale, her daughter Ruby, who is selectively mute. While the avalanche is the major event that occurs, this story is told primarily in the years and months leading up to it and later the aftermath. The timelines change often as well as the POV's, but it is never confusing to keep things straight. The tragedy actually takes a backseat to the main story, which is the devastation that can come with mental health issues and the destruction of a family.

This is written in an honest and unflinching way, no holding back on details, unsanitized and unapologetic.. It is very refreshing and yet disturbing at the same time. Carrie Mac is such a talented writer, who knew? The only drawback for me were the triggers, for the most part they didn't faze me, but there were sooooo many of them. I feel that less is more, it would have been more impactful to hold back sometimes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Carrie Mac for the opportunity to read this novel. It was a pleasure (and a relief) to read this gem.

And now we come to a book that I can’t make heads or tails of. Carrie Mac is a Canadian author who identifies as both queer and a woman who suffers from a form of bipolar disorder, but her treatment of a character in her novel Last Winter who suffers from what was formerly known as manic depression is questionable to me. There is perhaps a point to this. By writing a character who suffers from both bipolar disorder and alcoholism, Mac could be trying to lift to the world how unfairly such people may be treated in mainstream society. However, it could also be said that Last Winter is a novel that perpetuates stigma among those who suffer from mental illness — which I hope is not an unfair comment, especially given the fact that the author may be writing, at least in a fictional sense, from her own experience. Thus, I’m not sure what to think about this book. Does it perpetuate shame, or does it seek to banish it from the society of able-minded people? I’m not sure. That all said, I can only assume that Mac was operating from a place of good intentions in writing this book given the circumstances. I hope the author isn’t writing about any possible self-hatred she may harbour as a person with mental health challenges. People with such ailments can lead productive lives, and I know this from intimate experience working with a friend who suffers from bipolar disorder. I worry that some who read Last Winter may not draw the same conclusion — at least those who have closed minds.

The novel is set in a fictitious small town in British Columbia called Casper during January, and the story centers around a family that is being ripped apart at the seams. Fiona, the mother, is the said alcoholic and bipolar sufferer who is presented as a less than capable parent: while on a Christmas holiday the year before when the book is set, we learn that she has sex with the male best friend of her husband, Gus. Gus and Fiona are fighting all the time, and we learn that Gus is planning to separate from Fiona and take their eight-year-old daughter Ruby with him. Likewise, Fiona has plans to return to her native England with Ruby and never return, too. Ruby, in the midst of this, suffers perhaps from autism as she is selectively mute: she rarely talks and then only to people she trusts. In any event, everyone’s lives are upended as Gus — a guide in the mountain country behind Casper — takes a group of children, including his daughter, on a school field trip to a cabin somewhere along the avalanche line. Of course, disaster strikes: an avalanche kills five of the children and possibly Gus. Ruby escapes but returns to the mountain alone to find her dad while Fiona grapples with the potential loss and the additional responsibilities of parenting while dealing with a manic episode.

As you can tell, this is a very depressing book. It’s strangely being released around the most depressing time of the year, towards the end of January, when Christmas lights have been taken down and cold, long nights await Canadian society. I guess you could say the timing might be perfect, but readers may want to be aware that this is not a fun, escapist read. It is quite challenging. The main reason is that most of the main characters — Ruby excluded — are presented as unlikeable characters. Ruby, though, is a bit of a cipher because she largely doesn’t talk, so we only know what she’s thinking when the novel shifts to her point of view. If spending time with characters who fight relentlessly appeals to you, then Last Winter will be your go-to book.

The novel is also problematic because Fiona is presented as a sexual deviant — even though it’s true that some with mental illnesses can suffer from risky sexual health practices — and some of her fantasies may leave readers with a bad taste in their mouths. There is also a lot of focus on the exchange and expulsion of bodily fluids by the characters. This I am of two minds. While I’ve longed for novels that mirror human existence as closely as possible and acknowledge that we all pee and poop, reading about it incessantly is a bit of a struggle. At one point or another in Last Winter, a character is off doing their business in the woods — if you know what I mean.

Thus, I don’t know what to say about this novel. Is it a good book? I thought it wasn’t, but that doesn’t mean that someone else might read this and take something important from it — if not quite outright like it. Opinions are like bum holes, after all: everyone’s got one. I can only give my opinion as a reader who has been sifting through books and reviewing them for some 20 years now. Whether that counts for anything or not is for the reader of this review to decide. However, I did wish that Fiona was presented as someone who had the potential to be more redeemable as a wife and a parent, as opposed to someone who was mired in personal problems and baggage. I wish this book had been more explicit in showing readers that people with mental illnesses are not always troubled and running afoul of their neighbours all of the time. That said, I think I can understand why Fiona is shown in a certain negative light. Perhaps the author is trying to illustrate to readers how she may have been treated as she grappled with her disease — but I can’t read minds so there is no way I can be certain of that. Thus, I don’t know what to say about this book. While I think I can say Last Winter was not my cup of tea, personally, it may be of use to someone — even if only as a form of emotional catharsis for the reader (if not the writer). It is a brave book, especially given the author’s background. We need more books from such people. However, this is also not an easy read. For those reasons, I can say that I’m glad the book exists but readers should proceed with caution. After all, it is a cautionary tale about the support some people need just to make it through tragedy. Whether or not that sounds appealing is entirely up to you in the end.

Ruby a 9-year old girl who speaks very selectively has lost her father Gus in an avalanche where the lives of some of Ruby’s classmates also perished. Fiona her mother is bipolar and an alcoholic who is manic and neglectful in taking care of Ruby, Gus, their home and herself. Heartbreaking to read in parts and was a real page-turner for me. There are many sensitive issues in this book so be warned! There was too much sexualized language around children which was disturbing. I liked Gus, Ruby and Liam however disliked Fiona as likely intended by the author. The struggle with her mental illness was real, destructive and so sad. The friends of the family were so supportive with Ruby and loved her like their own.
I was excited to read Last Winter when the synopsis describes it “As gripping and unforgettable as Fredrik Backman's Bear Town and Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone”. The setting in British Columbia and a Canadian author also drew me to this novel. I wouldn’t rate it as high as these other books however really enjoyed it and would recommend to others.
I’d like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this digital ARC of Last Winter by Carrie Mac in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn't finish this book. There should have been some trigger warnings. It made me really uncomfortable to read it.

I just couldn’t finish this book. Heck I didn’t get very far into it because it was too much for me. I do not recommend this book at all .

I’d like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this digital ARC of Last Winter by Carrie Mac in exchange for my honest review.

I was very much looking forward to reading this one. Being promoted as similar to Beartown and The Great Alone (two books that I loved) I was hopeful to fall into another book that I could add to my favourites list. And this one is Canadian, I generally love CanLit! Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for me. It did not feel similar to either Beartown or The Great Alone in the slightest. This is a very dark and heavy read (this book needs to be loaded with trigger warnings) and believe me when I say I usually love books that deal with dark themes but this book tipped over the edge of the amount of dark themes that I can handle and find appropriate. Some of the topics in this one are important (mental illness, suicidal thoughts and attempts, oversexualization of minors, parental neglect, child abuse, death of children) but I didn’t feel like the author provided the reader with any sort of payoff in the end. It felt like trauma piled on top of trauma that was written in very heavy handed manner. That’s not to say that others won’t enjoy this book (we all like different books and connect to them for our reasons!) but this one really didn’t work for me.

Carrie Mac is obviously a talented writer as is evident in her descriptions and building of atmosphere but there was just too much about this book that didn’t work for me. I wish that I could provide a more positive review.

I requested this book because years ago I had Carrie Mac in as an author visit and she was SO engaging and interesting! Unfortunately, I am putting this book as a DNF. I was initially intrigued, but as the sexual content around children and young people began I quickly lost interest. I recognize that the main character has mental health concerns, but I just couldn't see myself continuing after some of the descriptions.

This is a powerful book. I was sure if it was a mystery or thriller, but it turned out to be a family drama with a lot of punch. I sobbed on more than one occasion. I always think it is a good book if the writer can make me cry. This is really the story of a dysfunctional family and the tragedy that surrounds them, both leading up to the avalanche and the after effects. It is deep and moving and left me with just the right amount of questions in the end.

Despite this book being sold as similar to Beartown and The Great Alone (two of my favourite books ever), I could not get into this one. Nothing was bringing me back to the book, or felt intriguing enough to keep going. After reading a couple other reviews that weren't raving about it, I decided to put it aside. Which I was so sad about, because this is a BC author and I am a BC bookseller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my ARC of The Last Winter by Carrie Mac. This was a hard book to read as it dealt with heavy subjects. I feel the author accurately depicted mental health struggles and also how grief affects everyone differently. The Last Winter follows a family and community before, during and after an avalanche that takes the lives of 5 children and one adult. I felt like i got to know each character and their thoughts and feelings throughout dealing with tragedy. I recommend giving this novel a read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings: suicidal thoughts and attempts, mental health concerns, parental neglect, death of children, child abuse, oversexualization of children

This was a difficult book to read, the topics covered are very sensitive. I found the author's handling of these topics to be straightforward, no sugar coating and the characters didn't come across as victims.

I appreciated the insight into the mental illness of Fiona. The author seemed to have researched bipolar disorder well and gave a chilling, seemingly realistic account of life with mental illness as well as how it affects those who love the person.

Wow! What a great book! Gus and Fiona's daughter Ruby is daddy's girl. Though she hardly speaks at all, she learns eagerly about bush craft from her father, who runs an adventure outfitting store in town. This is also a story about her mother Fiona, who struggles with bipolar, never making it easy on herself, never one to go along to get along. The townsfolk seem to hate Fiona, even her friends have a hard time being kind to her. When tragedy strikes the town, including Ruby's family, any semblance of a normal life fray at the ends. I enjoyed Ruby's nine-year-old sense of belief, her independence and persistence. I worried about her fate and that of her mother. A well-crafted story. This is not just another novel for young readers!

Shows the pain and suffering of those suffering from mental illness and the affect it has on the person and those close to the victim. The struggle of how to deal with death and heartbreak.

This work was a very difficult read, not because of style, but because of two things that stood out. First, the shifts , both in time between events and aspects of the narrative, as well as in POV, with the characters of Ruby and Fiona, especially, becoming confused. Second, there is the presentation of subject matter. The topics Mac deals with are important, but lose a clear perspective when dealt with in such an heavy handed manner. I wanted to feel empathetic to all the characters, but their development was strange, skewed in some way that kept sympathy at bay, even if Mac made them come alive. What is her point in the final analysis? Too much is thrown in here, with little positive reward for the reader. The novel has value, but still needs work.

I felt small town British Columbia comes alive, however, The sense of snow and camaraderie was well drawn.
I haven't read Bachman's work at all, so really don't have a comment that has much to back it, except I was under the impression that his work was not so incredibly negative a perspective on human behaviour, as is this work.
Fiona's British background didn't seem to have a point, unless Mac was making some statement about the wealthy that exploit Western Canada as a tourist destination. Fiona could have been from any city.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book kept me at the edge of my seat, but it was a hard read. This book is gritty, graphic and deals with all sorts of traumatic events. I really enjoyed the characters of Ruby and Gus and the community at large. I appreciate what the author was trying to do with the character of Fiona, but she was really difficult to read. While the marketing comparisons Beartown and The Great Alone where trying to grab a certain audience, they are not the best comparisons. It is a book that begs to be read in winter and a book that will break you. But overall it was lacking the redemption and hope I seek in my reading.

I was excited for this one. A book set in the BC Rockies? Sign me up! The start of the book was excellent. I was invested in where things were going. The characters were interesting and I could visualize the setting. Then things started going off the rails beginning with some sexual comments about the son of a friend who she’s known since a young child. There were some other odd comments in the same vein but when she started staring at her child’s naked body and describing it, I called it a day. I made it 25% but won’t be finishing it. I don’t consider myself a prudish reader and rarely DNF solely because of the content, but I did in this case.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.