Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: January 24, 2023
Five children and their wilderness guide, Gus, a former Olympian, set out on a survival course for an elementary school field trip. Tragically, an avalanche strikes and the children, and their guide, are missing. All except for selectively mute young Ruby, who was sent ahead by Gus, who happens to be her father, and therefore missed the avalanche completely. Now, Ruby is in the sole care of her mother, Fiona, who is now also a new widow, facing single parenthood while continuing to battle her bipolar disorder. Ruby is convinced her father is still alive and she knows she has the survival skills to find him and bring him home to her so she sets out on a journey to retrieve her missing father while her entire community struggles with the overwhelming loss, and her mother battles her own equally vicious demons.
Mac is a Canadian writer, one who is new to me although she has several books under her belt. “Last Winter” is her newest, and it has been compared to the likes of Frederick Backman. I will say that “Winter” is like Backman’s works in that a tragedy strikes a close-knit community, and they rally together to support each other (while some turn on each other), and that some pretty heavy issues are dealt with. In “Winter”, there is quite obviously grief and loss (of children and spouses and everything in between), but also addiction, mental illness, parenting and trauma, so it is definitely not light reading material.
The first half of this novel I found to be disjointed and confusing- the main narrators, Ruby and Fiona, were difficult to identify right away, as both took turns with seemingly no differentiation and the plot, too, jumped back and forth with no clear indication and separation. The first half focuses on life after the avalanche, so the bulk of the action hasn’t happened yet, while the latter half focuses on life right before the avalanche, and all of the events from afterward that the first part of the novel didn’t cover. For all the first half of the novel lacks, the second half more than makes up for. Gripping, emotionally charged and desolate, I loved every page-turning second.
Fiona’s struggle with bipolar disorder is heartbreaking, as is the multi-faceted challenges faced by Ruby both before her father’s death and after. Mac makes it easy to sympathize with both of the female characters and even with all of Fiona’s faults, she is desperately honest and doing her very best with what she has to raise her young daughter on her own.
“Last Winter” was intriguing as it was heartbreaking, and it left me with chills, in more ways than one. I am so glad I have found another Canadian writer to enjoy.

It was a shame that this book was advertised as a comparison to Fredrik Backman as that is a comparison that is not fair to ANY author. There are heavy emotional issues, what felt like a lot for one story, but I didn't feel like the emotional issues were resolved or addressed or grounded. It felt like there was just trauma piled on trauma. Fiona's portions of the narration really showcased her mental health struggles but were very difficult to read and created a very unlikable character. I liked the novel setting in British Columbia and quite enjoyed all the wilderness aspects such as: the preparation Gus did with Ruby over the years that she relies on throughout the story. Ruby's self-mutism was well portrayed and the cold, snowy setting had a strong presence. I would have liked more Ruby, and more Gus, especially his thought prior to the field trip so that we could understand what he was thinking to maybe better understand the tragedy.

I have decided to DNF this book. As much as I would like to know what happened to Ruby, I cannot take the writing. I was drawn in by the fact that it was in BC and that it had been compared to an author that I liked, but it is just not working for me. Sorry.

I was immediately drawn to this when it was compared to Bear Town.. I didn't really enjoy this though. It felt messy? I can't even describe it.. I had to DNF this book because it was a bit too much for me. Thank you to NetGallery and Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC!

I’m not sure where the comparison to Beartown comes from. This book is nothing like Beartown. The synopsis gives no insight into what the reader should expect. The amount of content warnings this book should come with is staggering. It’s content is unsettling to say the least Most definitely not one for me.

This book was was advertised as being for fans of Beartown. As someone who recently just read this series, it is NOTHING like that. Beartown dealt with heavy issues without making it too disturbing to read.

I had to DNF this one as it was too disturbing and uncomfortable. The storyline itself felt like it was all over the place, but the over-sexualization of kids was just too ‘ick’ for me. Especially the way the mother looked at her own daughter sometimes. It’s a hard book to read. I am sure some people will be able to get through it and be able to appreciate it, but I am not one of those people.

Thank you to NetGallery and Penguin Random House Canada for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Last Winter by Carrie Mac
Publishing Date 24 January 2022

This is not an easy book to review. Set in a small mountain town, this story follows what happens after a winter school trip ends tragically when an avalanche leaves all but two of the children dead. Last Winter has The Sweet Hereafter vibes and many trigger warnings that I recommend checking out before reading this book.
Ruby is almost 9 when she survives the natural disaster that claims her schoolmates and her father, the guardian of the trip. Even before this catastrophic event, Ruby rarely talked. “Selective mutism” was the diagnosis. Her parents marriage was on the brink of ending, and her mother, Fiona, diagnosed as being bipolar, was hard on Ruby. She often went off her meds, leaving Ruby neglected when her father Gus was away.
This is a heart wrenching book that is difficult to get through. Well written with an unflinching look at mental illness and childhood trauma, it is also relentless in it’s bleak and dismal portrayal of small town life suddenly thrust into a media storm and how quick people are to cast judgements and blame. There is no happy ending to this story which left me feeling a little melancholy.
I maybe too sensitive for this type of book, but I’m sure this story will be a fascinating one for many.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#netgalley #netgalleyreads #penguinrandomhousecanada #carriemac

I was so looking forward to his novel, which is immersed in British Columbia. I love of novel with Canadian landscapes.

To compare this to Beartown or The Great Alone was a bit perplexing.

The oversexualizing of children was terrifying. The name-calling of a person struggling with mental health was sad. The placing children in the middle of a martial turmoil also sad.
Would not recommend this book (heavy topics are okay as that is real life, but mostly would not recommend to the sexualized language surrounding children.)

Thank you to NetGalley, and the publisher for providing me an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I could not finish this book. Reading it made me feel too "yucky". I went in looking for a well written, Canadian dark and twisty story - and I got the dark and twisty but it was too much for me! Too many dark themes in one book and not properly address. Thank you for the ARC but I found it lacking in organization and think more chapters might be helpful as my version really jumped around a lot.

dnf this book, i could not get into it and after reading the reviews on goodreads i decided not to continue

I had to DNF this book. This is nothing like Beartown or The Great Alone. There are so many triggers in this book. I was shook by reading it.

There are so many trigger warnings in this one and I didn’t even finish it. I promised myself that I would learn to put it down and walk away if the book has me feeling icky … and this is just that.

I went into this seeing the marketing surrounding it compared to Beartown or The Great Alone. It is neither. Has neither the writing of both or the emotional connection of rawness in a remote setting.

There’s too much about genitals, fetishes, child abuse and honestly too much nudity with a child involved.

A broken family with major mental health issues that borderline cross into pedophilia. There’s no storyline IMO because the parts I read were completely focused on sexuality and disgusting bodily functions that need not be in a story.

Example: child wandering into couple having sex, putting her hand into ejaculation. Sex and skinny dipping with a minor. Genitals exposed. Bodily functions described in details.

Just don’t do it. There is nothing to compare it to with Kristin Hannah or Fredrik Backman

*Content Warning*

I had to DNF at 20% this book was too much for me to take in I honestly felt unsettled with descriptions of people's nudity especially minors and the premise of this book. I would like to thank the publisher for the ARC and I am sorry I could not do a better review.

I was excited for this one because of the premise, and because very few books are set in small town B.C. Unfortunately I ended up giving up on it - I just found it so disturbing in so many ways (sexualizing minors, fantasizing about minors sexually, looking at a minor's asshole, exposing oneself to minors, descriptions of genitalia and pubic hair, an 8 year old putting her hand in her father's "fluid", descriptions of pee/poop, etc.) Just a disturbing mess.

I liked the premise of this book. It was interesting enough to read about Fiona losing her marbles and Ruby grieving the loss of her father. However, I kept waiting for something to happen, a plot twist. And it never came. Yes, it was the unraveling of events after the avalanche but I felt like this book dragged on with no plot to the story. Overall disappointing.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Last Winter releases in January 2023

TW: cheating, drunk driving, suicide and suicidal thoughts, parental neglect, child abuse, child death, abortion, indecent exposure, over sexualization of minors, constant mentions of children’s genitalia, borderline pedo, fetishizations of minors and numerous mentions of bodily fluid (urine, feces, blood, ejaculate), mental health depictions.

Last Winter is set in a small mountain town in BC. This story is sectioned off into 3 parts: before, during, and after (the fatal avalanche).

I would like to preface this review by saying that I was initially very excited to read this. Having the story set in BC, where I’m from, I thought this would be the perfect winter adventure escape, but I was highly mislead by the synopsis. I truly wish there would have been any indication to the real content of this book, because if I knew it would have been a majority of vile and harmful indecent exposure to minors, I definitely would have stayed clear.
I did read the entirety of Last Winter, however, if I didn’t have the intention of providing a fully informed review, I would have easily dnf’d this before 20%.

The synopsis paints a picture of a broken family, overcoming grief from a tragic accident involving an avalanche, where the surviving child treks out to locate her missing father. And while Ruby does end up attempting this, the story is so far drawn out from this, that it’s maybe only 10% of the actual plot.
Instead of this being a story where the reader embarks on the impacts and fallout of the avalanche through the survivors, it’s more so a combination of irrelevant events that happen beforehand, through Fiona’s manic viewpoint.

Gus and Fiona have a very rocky relationship dynamic, which puts a strain on Ruby. His lack of necessary focus is honestly probably the main factor into the tragedies. Instead of focusing on the details of backcountry and this field trip, his mind was on divorce and sole custody of his child.
I would have liked for him to try harder to seek help for Fiona, through her manic bipolar episodes, instead of calling her bat-shit crazy. It was evident throughout the whole story that she was not taking her meds, but no one was giving her the support to get out of this horrible spiral.

On one hand, Ruby was very mature for her age - having to fend for herself and tend to the fire in her home, since her mother refused. But at the same time, she was very immature - constantly sucking her thumb at the age of 8 & 9. Now, with the writing, it doesn’t openly state that Ruby has ASD or is on the spectrum - but with all the descriptions, it was hard not to come to that conclusion. Ruby is selectively mute, has strong aversions to loud noises, has issues with the way clothing textures/fabrics/seams feel against her skin, and presents with delayed speech and writing skills.

I’m really not sure it’s accurate to say that Ruby was flattened by her father’s loss, when in actuality, she seemed to be the most put together emotionally out of everyone, and still had some semblance of hope that he survived and was using his skills as a backcountry guide.

Anyways, setting aside the fact that I thought I would be led on Ruby’s endearing journey of self-exploration with her winter survival skills, this novel was a real let down and highly vile and disturbing.

[POTENTIAL SPOILERS]

These are some of many things I had issues with:
- Fiona sexualizing her friends son on multiple occasions.
“She’d looked up milfs on porn sites and made herself come watching clips of supposedly teenaged boys fucking middleaged women.”
“She tried not to be alone with him.”
“She noticed the wear on his leather belt, the rim of his underwear stretched across his smooth, golden back.”
+ wondering if the son would have the same manly musk scent as his father. (The son is 9 years old)
- Cheating on her husband with her husbands best friend.
- Letting your 8 year old child drink alcohol, multiple times.
- Fiona looking at her childs asshole (and not just a glance, a real stare).
“She pulled off her swimsuit. Her naked little bum was at Fiona’s eye level, pale, smooth, with a tiny little star nestled between her cheeks when she bent over. Her daughter’s asshole. A child’s asshole.”
- Skinny dipping with your child, who is 8, and running hand in hand with them, while naked.
- The oversexualization of body parts involving minors.
“Pervert, Liam said. Then we all are, Mike said, laughing.”
Yeah, you’re all perverts and need to seek help, because it is not okay to constantly expose yourself to minors!!
- Gus thinking Fiona’s mental illness wears them down. Maybe help her instead of shaming her?
- Fiona having sex with her cousin at 12, which was essentially rape.
- Writing that the other children in the book (ages 9), were touching each others genitalia.
- Ruby walking in on people having sex.
- Ruby describing her mother in a thong, and then completely naked, and the difference in state of her pubic hair over time.
- Ruby going into her parents musky smelling bedroom, going onto their bed, and putting her hand into a “wet spot” - aka her fathers ejaculate. Absolutely disgusting.
- The outrageous amount of times that the author had to describe someone’s pee, or diarrhea. I was extremely close to being ill. And, it wasn’t even explained why they were all so violently ill - it was almost just another excuse to write in a disgusting fetish.
- The fact that on more than one occasion, Ruby was too afraid to pee, to the point that once, she was cupping herself down there, and two, actually pissed and shat herself. Like, I do not need to be reading this!!!
“She watched her father pee all the time.” — I’m sorry to tell you, that’s entirely not normal behaviour.
- The fact that Mike had to forcibly shove pills down Fiona’s throat, but had a hard on while doing that?
- Writing a F/F married couple but describing them as: “quite beefy and masculine presenting” and “the other is the gestator”
- AGAIN: writing about the exposed genitals of MINORS — once at the hospital between Liam and Ruby, and again at the memorial saying that all Ruby could think about was Shane’s erect penis — keep in mind all these children are 9 years old.
- Explicitly writing “there was a shooting in Surrey.” — of all the things you could have mentioned about BC from a radio clip, it had to be something so stereotypical? What value did this add to an already heavily judged POC community?
- “Ruby imagined an explosion that blew her mother high into the cold, cold clouds, as if an invisible giant had yanked her away.”


Although this was an arc, and not a final copy, I had a hard time reading this (aside from content wise), because there didn’t seem to be any chapter indicators at all. New paragraphs would be formed but it would be a completely different thought process, or persons pov, or day, but still a continuation without any visual way to break it up. I’m hoping this format will be revised for future readers.