So I've finished my first book in my first challenge ever!  Except it doesn't count because I had to read this book rightnow and couldn't wait until the challenge officially starts in January.  Too bad it wasn't worth it. I'm still getting this reviewing thing down, so the format might change as time passes.

Synopsis
In Kissing Snowflakes by Abby Sher, Samantha Levy is an almost-sixteen-year-old New Yorker (the state, not the city) headed to the slopes of Vermont for her winter vacation/father's honeymoon with his new wife, Kathy.  On her vacation, Sam has two objectives: fall hopelessly in love and stay as far from Kathy as possible.  She thinks she has accomplished her first goal once she meets the hot ski instructor, Drew, but are his intentions pure?  And what about the lodge owner's earnest son who seems to be around every corner?  Sam is up for one heck of a vacation.

Opinion
I have very mixed feelings about this book.  Parts of it are funny and quirky and realistic.  Parts of it are barely tolerable.  It hasn't been that long since I was fifteen (six years), but I cannot remember acting like Sam does.  I seem to have an inability to get past my own mind and experiences, and this gets in the way of my judging this book.  So just bear that in mind.

Sher writes in a very conversational style, truly in the voice of a fifteen year old (really, she sounded thirteen to me, but remember my biases).  Sometimes this, and sometimes it's just annoying.  Really, I felt like I was reading my old diary: "Well, today this happened, and can you believe how hot [crush of the week] is, and, oh my goodness, BFF and I are not getting along at all!" 

A lot of the conflicts in the book are superficial, glossed over.  Sam deals with some real issues--a new stepmom, a fight with her best friend, her first experience with boys--that could and should have been explored much more fully.  The resolution of the stepmom issue is contrived and predictable.  The fight Sam has with her best friend Phoebe is never resolved.  As for the boys--and this is a problem with the rest of the issues, too--I just don't feel that Sam learns anything, or learns what she should have.  

I did like some parts of the book, though!  Sam is a sweet character.  She's awkward and nerdy and assertive.  The awkwardness produces some cringe-worthy moments--you know, those that you remember for the rest of your life they're so embarrassing, and you don't know whether you want to laugh in sympathy or yell at Sam to stop being fifteen and show some discernment.  But it also allows for a more likable character.  

The ending is divine.  I love the ending.  I don't want to spoil it, so I won't say more, but it really is a nice finish.

All in all, I give the book 5 out of 10.  

Up Next: A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson  (probably, or maybe a new challenge!)