Into the Forest discussion

Here is the place to discuss retellings, traditional tales, or books that contain ice/snow/winter creatures. Examples include Wendigo, Yeti, Yuki-Onna, Nuckelavee, Jack Frost, Ded Moroz, and more.

Going to need some help for this one.

Some I have read that would fit:
Spinning Silver
The Winter Garden
The Kingdom of Back

A few more ideas...
Moon of Crusted Snow
Bear and the Nightingale
The Ice Puzzle

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, technically fae but very winter king type fae, I think it could count here too.

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid is set in the snow but I can't remember if the creatures have anything to do with the snow!

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

I've read and enjoyed all the other books people have recommended, too (except Winter Garden, which is the only one I haven't read).

Thanks everyone!

I read The Abominable because I thought it was about yetis but besides a few vague references, it really is not. Liked the book a lot but do not recommend for this challenge.

I thought I had read a few First Nations-Native American books featuring wendigo and it turns out I have:
Moon of the Crusted Snow byWaubgeshig Rice
I see there is a sequel, Moon of the Turning Leaves, which I’ll probably read for this prompt
It’s dystopian lit which isn’t my favourite

Jalilah wrote: "I thought I had read a few First Nations-Native American books featuring wendigo and it turns out I have:
Moon of the Crusted Snow byWaubgeshig Rice
I see there is ..."

I plan to read the sequel, too. Maybe. I wasn't super wild about the first book (the villain reminded me of someone I knew as a kid ... not in a good way, so entirely personal). But I think the second book shouldn't have the same villain.

Margaret wrote: ".I plan to read the sequel, too. Maybe. I wasn't super wild about the first book (the villain reminded me of someone I knew as a kid ... not in a good way, so entirely personal). But I think the second book shouldn't have the same villai

Honestly the book didn’t leave a strong impression on me. I remember liking, but not loving it. I can’t remember what happened in the first book, but I like to support up and coming writers, so will read the sequel

I just read The Stolen Heir and can confirm it fits perfectly for this theme!
Edited to add however I’m not using it for this prompt, rather for creatures animated by magic

I am currently reading the Gingerbread Men by Joanna Corrance which would fit well here, Gothic Scottish horror- great so far!

I was a bit stuck on this one but then remembered I had read The Longest Autumn by Amy Avery. It might fit a little less in the fairy tale/myth vibe of this group but it felt heavily influenced by Roman mythology to me. There is a Winter God who features in the book enough that I felt it counted as a "snow creature". I enjoyed this book, however, it may not be to everyone's taste.

Others I've read previously (some are mentioned in this thread already) that I would recommend:
T Kingfisher's The Raven and the Reindeer provides a fresh retelling of The Snow Queen. I rather enjoyed this one and it is one of (if not the top) favorites of her fairytale retellings.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a melancholy historical/fantasy retelling of The Snow Maiden. I found it utterly heart-wrenching and spellbinding.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust is a YA fantasy retelling of Snow White (but I felt there were shades of The Snow Child as well) about a mother and daughter.

I enjoyed both The Snow Child and Girls Made of Snow and Glass. The Raven and the Reindeer might be a December read for me! I haven't read that one yet.

Margaret wrote: "The Raven and the Reindeer might be a December read for me! I haven't read that one yet."

I liked it! I think it was my favorite of her retold fairy tales.

There's anthology of Wendigo stories that either just released or is coming out soon. I saw an advert but didn't note the details.

This is a historical gothic that features Persian mythology about midwinter demons, although there's not loads of mythological detail: In the Dark Heart of Winter

Several years ago I read a book that was three novelettes based on Yuki-Onna...I thought it was called something like Snow Women, but I can't find it in my reading history just now.

Just wondering if a Bigfoot or Sasquatch would count for this prompt or would it be better suited to Forest creatures?

A Yeti is definitely an ice/snow creature, so I guess it depends on the book...

Ozsaur wrote: "A Yeti is definitely an ice/snow creature, so I guess it depends on the book..."
Is a Yeti the same thing as a Sasquatch?

Is a Yeti the same thing as a Sasquatch?

I think so? Except Yeti seem to live in cold landscapes.

If you're reading a book with Sasquatch type creatures, and it's winter, I'd count it.

I agree, I would count it! As long as it's a cold landscape.

Margaret wrote: "I agree, I would count it! As long as it's a cold landscape."

Ozsaur wrote: "Is a Yeti the same thing as a Sasquatch?

I think so? Except Yeti seem to live in cold landscapes.

If you're reading a book with Sasquatch type creatures, and it's winter, I'd count it."

The book I was thinking of rereading was Return of the Trickster. It has a character that is a Sasquatch. He lives in a cabin near Mount Whistler. I reread the first two books of the series but only read this one once, however I’ve been reading up of Sasquatch lore and they are closely associated with the Pacific Northwest, so while it does snow there I think a Sasquatch is more of a forest creature. Not that someone can’t still use it for snow creatures

I've read Return of the Trickster (really enjoyed it) and I would consider the Sasquatch a forest creature. But that's just my opinion. I hope this doesn't mess up your TBR for the challenge.

I decided to read The Bear and the Nightingale for this prompt. I did read it when it first came out in 2017, but by the time I got around to reading the second book, The Girl in the Tower I’d forgotten so much that I didn’t really appreciate it. And now the third book of the trilogy is out The Winter of the Witch I didn’t want to have the same experience, so I figured I might as well read them again.
My experience with the Between Earth and Sky trilogy confirmed it’s better for me to wait until all the books of a trilogy are out so I can read them closer together

Ozsaur wrote: "I've read Return of the Trickster (really enjoyed it) and I would consider the Sasquatch a forest creature. But that's just my opinion. I hope this doesn't mess up your TBR for the ..."


Me too, no it doesn’t mess things up at all! :). See above

Jalilah wrote: "I decided to read The Bear and the Nightingale for this prompt. I did read it when it first came out in 2017, but by the time I got around to reading the second book, [book:The Girl..."

I admit I often read series in random order, with years in between, and just in a general way that would probably irritate most people, ha! It rarely bothers me if I'm not following along with a series.

I believe this is the only challenge I have left. But I don't want to read winter books right now. It's spooky season! So I'll probably wait until Nov. or Dec. to read something for this.

I read Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune for this one, which has a yeti in it. Really enjoyed it!

I ended up reading 3 books for this one
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Girl in the Tower
The Winter of the Witch
All part of trilogy by Katherine Arden

Erin wrote: "I was a bit stuck on this one but then remembered I had read The Longest Autumn by Amy Avery. It might fit a little less in the fairy tale/myth vibe of this group but it felt heavily influenced by ..."

Thanks to Erin and Mir for recommending The Raven and the Reindeer! I loved it!