The Frozen Girl of Spirit Lake by Meg Lelvis

 

"There above in that cloudless sky, eagles fly..., like the people's spirit and strength...There, in my dream, I am one with my ancestors, The only sound is the wind that moves fluttering feathers."

          -Roland's recitation of an Ojibwe poem

The Frozen Girl of Spirit Lake reminded me so much of the work of William Kent Krueger, one of my favorite authors. The setting is Minnesota, a main character is Native American and there is a suspicious death, all very common in Krueger's novels, particularly his Cork O'Connor series. This added to my enjoyment of Frozen Girl..

Primary storyteller Nancy Borg is a student at Eklund State Teacher's College. She and her friends, Judy and Peggy, become emotionally involved in the mysterious death of a classmate, Barbara Gruen who, as the title indicates, is found frozen to death. A worker at the college, Roland Nightbird, is an Ojibwe native who will predictably be accused of foul play. I say predictable because the book overview says as much, and more than one character shows racist tendencies. However, Nancy who is acquainted with Roland believes he is innocent.

When she is helping Barbara's family clear out her dorm room, Nancy finds Barbara's diary and keeps it to herself. Will she read it? If she does, will she learn anything important?

I liked the short chapters and the author's alternating points of view with Nancy's parts in first person and those of Roland and Loreen, Judy's self-centered, prejudiced mother told in third. These aspects made the novel a page-turner and I rate it a 4.