2.75 stars? This was Walden's first book, so I cut her a break, but this was a little bit too on the vague side for me. A royal family, their servants, and their giant pet cat named Nemo lock themselves in their castle for a 3-year-long winter. The main character Lars is dying of heart disease, which he chooses to tell none of his siblings about. The rest of the story follows the family's disintegration over the long winter. Full of interesting concepts but I wish there'd been more world-building, and from an artistic standpoint I had a helluva time telling the characters apart, making a lot of the happenings confusing and hard to follow. Overall this was a little more vague and left "up to interpretation" than I prefer but I'm glad I gave it a chance. ( )

I can't believe that a person less then a year out of high school can create such a wonderful book. The art work sets the mood beautifully, a stark world with a 3 year winter should be black and white. I need to get more books by this author/artist. ( )

Like a vast dream. I find myself at the end, having read it, and without memory of a self reading it. I melt away; I don’t need me, anyway. ( )

This must've been how Shakespeare dreamed...

It's a vast work, subtle, and perhaps too subtle in parts, but not for the book, but for me; I'll re-read this some time later once I've digested it. It's a slow meal, and a delicious one. ( )

I adored On a Sunbeam, and was really excited to find a copy of TEOS at my library. The concept is great, but the characters - specifically, two sisters and four brothers, all of them blonde-haired and gaunt - are impossible to tell apart. Half the time I had no idea what was going on. Like, WTF happened to Nemo? And that kid's arm? And who was the brunette rolling around with one of the boys (I think?) in that one panel? SO MUCH CONFUSION. I fear I will be haunted equally by unanswered questions and Walden's dreamlike artwork. ( )