2021 winner of The Philip K. Dick Award!A 2020 The Rumpus Book Club Selection“Blends a rural thriller and speculative realism into what could be called dystopian noir…. Profoundly moving.”—Library Journal, starred reviewIn an endless winter, she carries seeds of hopeWylodine comes from a world of paranoia and poverty—her family grows marijuana illegally, and life has always been a battle. Now … hope
Wylodine comes from a world of paranoia and poverty—her family grows marijuana illegally, and life has always been a battle. Now she’s been left behind to tend the crop alone. Then spring doesn’t return for the second year in a row, bringing unprecedented, extreme winter.
With grow lights stashed in her truck and a pouch of precious seeds, she begins a journey, determined to start over away from Appalachian Ohio. But the icy roads and strangers hidden in the hills are treacherous. After a harrowing encounter with a violent cult, Wil and her small group of exiles become a target for the cult’s volatile leader. Because she has the most valuable skill in the climate chaos: she can make things grow.
Urgent and poignant, Road Out of Winter is a glimpse of an all-too-possible near future, with a chosen family forged in the face of dystopian collapse. With the gripping suspense of The Road and the lyricism of Station Eleven, Stine’s vision is of a changing world where an unexpected hero searches for where hope might take root.
“Richly imagined, deeply moving and unthinkably offers hope in a world that uncannily resembles ours currently in the thick of COVID-19…. Gloriously well-written.” —Ms. Magazine
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A closely observed, evocative portrayal of place in a time of extreme duress. A warning about who we become and who we want to be in an uncertain future. Beautifully written and essential.
Mind blown with Road Out Of Winter.
In this maybe-not-so-futuristic tale, Wylodine, an Appalachian pot entrepreneur is forced to fend for herself in what turns out to be very serious circumstances. The sun has gradually receded, the world has gotten colder, there’s no more growing and things have gotten downright dangerous. Wyl is going to have to use her many skills to make it through. I loved that about her.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning to end. There were times I had to put it down because some of the situations are so gut-wrenchingly intense. (I mean that in a good way.) It wasn’t long before I picked it back up because I had to know what was going to happen to Wyl and friends.
This story is so believable that I felt the cold chill of the circumstances and could easily see how this could happen. I think that contributes much to the overall feel of this story, which is not easy — at all.
I loved this story. I love how it ended and also hope there will be more to Wyl story. Either way is good. Very entertaining read.
Like The Road infused with feminist grit, Alison Stine’s Road out of Winter focuses on the true seeds of hope during a climate apocalypse: the things that nurture both our bodies and our souls. A startling and intimate look at what happens when our planet turns against us.
Stark, dark and strangely urgent, this is a book that grabs you on the first page and doesn’t let go. Alison Stine is a master at the craft. She takes us on a wild ride inside a future that feels all too real, with characters we care about, and a story that we start wishing will never end.
Endless winter post-apocalyptic tale
Full-time winter is in its second year around most of the United States and the unbearable cold is affecting most activities. One of the major ones is that crops can’t be grown so food is getting in short supply.
Wylodine (Wil) is 19 years old and lives in the back hills of Appalachian Ohio. A year ago her mother and her mom’s boyfriend left Wil to continue their illegal marijuana growing operation while they went off looking for a warmer clime to start a second grow.
But the cold is affecting everything. Even though Wil grows her reduced crop now in a temperature controlled basement, she still wants to head out for a warmer place. So when she finally hears from her mother, she has some big decisions to make.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post-apocalyptic tale with its strong female protagonist. The good and bad characters are drawn well. The setting made me shiver. My only reason for not rating this with five stars is that I wish the ending had been extended a bit. It was good but I would have liked a bit more.
I highly recommend this book if you like post-apocalyptic tales, tales with a strong female protagonist, or tales about Appalachia.
I received this book from MIRA Books through Edelweiss in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.