A blackout and a blizzard leave seventeen-year-old Lottie and her new stepsister Jade trapped in an isolated ski cabin in Tahoe, where they are soon joined by a cute, fast-talking stranger named Alex, who claims to be lost and in need of shelter--but the girls realize Alex is not who he claims to be, and he has dangerous friends.
Being snowed in at a luxury cabin on Lake Tahoe with no parents for one night doesn't sound too bad. In fact, it could very well be a teen's dream come true! But such is not the case for Lottie, who will be spending this night with her new stepsister Jade. The girls don't exactly get along, and now they have to make nice while a snowstorm moves in around them. Where are their parents, you ask? They've taken off for their honeymoon, leaving the girls on their own for the night. Despite the weather and the fact that they barely know each other, Lottie and Jade can manage own their own for one night, right?
All seems to be going swimmingly back at the cabin - the girls are exploring the home and are bonding, albeit rather slowly, over their new snowed in experience and sisterhood together - but then catastrophe strikes. The Northern Lights can be seen in the sky, causing a massive blackout. The girls are now home alone with no power. To make matters worse, Lottie has just heard that a blizzard is headed their way, turning their snowy evening into something much worse. When Lottie and Jade open their door to a stranger seeking refuge - a teenage guy named Alex with his dog Otis - things start to get creepy. But the day's events turn downright disastrous when the cabin catches fire and the trio is forced out into the snow. Can they survive the coming blizzard with no shelter from the storm?
Keely Parrack's YA debut, Don't Let in the Cold, is nothing short of dramatic as three teens battle the elements to survive the snowstorm of a lifetime! This action-packed wintry novel is perfect for its targeted age group - teens - and will keep them flipping the pages long into the cold, dark night.
While there is no shortage of climactic events in this punchy novel, Parrack's teens react like most young adults would ... making hare-brained decisions to their own detriment. These are not teens who have it all figured out. Instead they make one bad decision after another, putting them in a never-ending spiral of predicaments until this book's harrowing end. But it is not all bad. Lottie, Jade, and Alex make some illogical choices, but they are spot-on with others, keeping readers on their toes, never knowing what to expect.
Packed with ominous threats and banter-filled dialogue, Don't Let in the Cold is the best of both worlds, showcasing the perils of staying alive when exposed to the elements, while also highlighting the relationships among a group of people thrown into a terrifying survival situation together.
- Brooke, Public Relations Librarian