The Ice House, Monica Sherwood
The Ice House, Monica Sherwood
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The Ice House

Author: Monica Sherwood

Narrator: Katie Schorr

Unabridged: 6 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/18/2022

Synopsis

With shades of When You Reach Me, The Thing About Jellyfish, and Bridge to Terabithia, and a big, timely climate hook at its core, here is a heartfelt middle grade debut about the inevitability of change that will resonate profoundly during these extraordinary times.Spring has arrived, and yet an unyielding winter freeze has left Louisa snowed into her apartment building for months with parents coping with extreme stress, a little brother struggling with cabin fever, and—awkwardly—her neighbor and former close friend, Luke. The new realities of this climate disaster have not only affected Louisa’s family, but when Luke’s dad has an ice-related accident and it’s unclear if he’ll recover, both families’ lives are turned upside down.Desperate to find an escape from the grief plaguing their homes, Louisa and Luke build a massive snow fort in their yard. But their creation opens up an otherworldly window to what could lie ahead, and sets them on a mission: to restore the universe to its rightful order, so the ice will melt and life will return to “normal”.With a deft combination of heartfelt prose and a touch of magic, Monica Sherwood’s affecting debut novel is a relatable story of families grappling with—and emerging from—a different kind of quarantine.

About Monica Sherwood

Monica Sherwood grew up on Long Island and currently lives in Brooklyn. She is a former elementary school teacher with a master’s degree in Childhood and Special Education from Hunter College, and currently works in educational technology as a product designer for teachers and kids. Monica began dreaming up The Ice House during a particularly long, cold winter, inventing a world “where snow and ice came to represent that desperate feeling of being hopelessly stuck in one place … but where change is, eventually, inevitable.” The Ice House is her debut novel.

About Katie Schorr

Katie Schorr is an actor and writer in New York. Her one-woman show, Take Me. Seriously, ran for six months at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and she performs throughout New York in new works at the Ensemble Studio Theatre and Ars Nova, among other theaters. She has appeared on VH1’s Best Week Ever and costars in the web series Head in the Oven with Saturday Night Live actor Bill Hader. Her audiobook credits include narrating the novels in Alyson Noel’s bestselling Immortals series. Of her work on the series, AudioFile magazine has said, “Narrator Katie Schorr has a wonderfully raspy, youthful voice, which she puts to good effect on the cast of teenage characters.”

Reviews

Goodreads review by Carol on August 13, 2021

I think the metaphor and analogy of the Freeze to the current pandemic is obvious, so it was really hard for me to read this very bleak story. I do want to like it, but it moves gently, so much so that it drags, and in my opinion it doesn't have a satisfying ending. Couldn't really like it.......more

Goodreads review by Heather on February 08, 2022

The global freeze felt a whole lot like the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, so I think readers will be able to relate quite easily. There are a whole lot of tough things going on in this book, though, so super sensitive readers may be overwhelmed. There is a touch of magic realism that didn't......more

Goodreads review by Susan on January 31, 2022

I love the premise of this book—two kids build an ice house in their backyard that transports them to happier times and helps them cope with the fear, anxiety, and frustration they feel with their world encased in a strange, dangerous deep freeze. I was expecting a portal fantasy-ish read, but that'......more

Goodreads review by Dr. T Loves Books on November 24, 2023

4.5 - I was surprised how much I enjoyed this story. I went in blind and thought it would be about kids during winter break, but it is actually an interesting look at the pandemic as a weather phenomenon rather than a virus. A mini ice age wraps the globe, and people are stuck inside unless they bra......more

Goodreads review by C.J. on August 12, 2024

This book takes everything we experience/felt during the global pandemic and gives it a twist. The world is undergoing something newscasters are simply calling "The Freeze." Snow is falling globally, and there's talk of it being the next ice age. School is handled remotely, food shortages are real,......more

Quotes

“A beautifully written novel about a world of mostly physical isolation and virtual connection that seems all too familiar [and that] readers will strongly relate to.” Dusti Bowling, bestselling author

“Genuine and heartwarming.” Jasmine Warga, Newbery Honor–winning author

“A sensitive, authentic hero’s journey through the unexpected, cumulative grief that life can bring and the resilience on the other side.” Melissa Savage, author of Lemons

“A beautiful reminder that sometimes things that break can’t be pieced back together exactly as they were—but they can be made anew.” Kate O’Shaughnessy, author of The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane

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