Book Description:

Sixteen-year-old Sadie Rose hasn’t said a word in eleven years—ever since the day she was found lying in a snowbank during a howling storm. Like her voice, her memories of her mother and what happened that night were frozen.

Set during the roaring 1920s in the beautiful, wild area on Rainy Lake where Minnesota meets Canada, Frozen tells the remarkable story of Sadie Rose, whose mother died under strange circumstances the same night that Sadie Rose was found, unable to speak, in a snowbank. Sadie Rose doesn’t know her last name and has only fleeting memories of her mother—and the conflicting knowledge that her mother had worked in a brothel. Taken in as a foster child by a corrupt senator, Sadie Rose spends every summer along the shores of Rainy Lake, where her silence is both a prison and a sanctuary.

One day, Sadie Rose stumbles on a half dozen faded, scandalous photographs—pictures, she realizes, of her mother. They release a flood of puzzling memories, and these wisps of the past send her at last into the heart of her own life’s great mystery: who was her mother, and how did she die? Why did her mother work in a brothel—did she have a choice? What really happened that night when a five-year-old girl was found shivering in a snowbank, her voice and identity abruptly shattered?

Sadie Rose’s search for her personal truth is laid against a swirling historical drama—a time of prohibition and women winning the right to vote, political corruption, and a fevered fight over the area’s wilderness between a charismatic, unyielding, powerful industrialist and a quiet man battling to save the wide, wild forests and waters of northernmost Minnesota. Frozen is a suspenseful, moving testimonial to the haves and the have-nots, to the power of family and memory, and to the extraordinary strength of a young woman who has lost her voice in nearly every way—but is utterly determined to find it again.

1. What surprised you while you were writing Frozen?
   
   When I set off to discover Sadie Rose's story, I hadn't intended to weave her quest for identity into the backdrop of a budding environmentalist fighting against a powerful industrialist. Though I'd always been fascinated by the real battle between Earnest Oberholtzer and E.W. Backus, it wasn't something I intended to write about. As they started to step onto the stage, I had to allow them into the story. I was at first hesitant, as it wasn't the story I'd intended--but then, I think stories that course through a writer's veins need to be allowed to go where they will. I had to let go and see where the story wanted to take me.) Once part of the plot, I had to keep these characters in their place. Men, you know, always trying to take over control. Ha! This was, I kept reminding myself, Sadie Rose's story and journey.
   
   
2. Who was your favorite character in the book?
   
   I had fun discovering Caveman and Bigby. Caveman was inspired by a man named Catamaran who showed up at Kettle Falls from England, roamed around barefoot much of the time, and lived in a hovel in the ground.
   
   When I started to think about who might have been the prankster who stood up the corpse of Sadie Rose's mother, a slightly dim-witted yet endearing man named Bigby appeared. Not until I wrote the scene at his hunting shack did I discover more of his backstory.
   
   But favorite? Sadie Rose, for sure. And every single one of the other characters. They become very real in my imagination.
   
   
3. Did you model Sadie Rose’s grandparents after people you know?
   
   Both sets of my grandparents came from Scandinavian backgrounds. I model Aasta and Hans after my Grandma Fanny and Grandpa Eric, except that my grandma was more like sweet-dough in her build than tall and lanky, like Aasta. They were understated, very skilled and insightful people, and going to their remote cabin by boat every summer instilled in me a deep love of the north.
   
   
4. When you based this book on places near where you live, did you find yourself looking at those places with a new or deeper appreciation? Has it changed your feelings about your home?
   
   At first, I fictionalized the names of Ranier, Int'l Falls, and Rainy Lake, worrying that I'd feel too tethered to history to allow my story enough dramatic freedom. However, after I finished the first draft, I'd clearly written about this region's history and setting in a way that was quite reflective of life here at the turn of the century. I decided to ground the story in this specific region.
   
   Writing historical fiction does allow me to step deeply into a time period, and stepping back in time where I live was a very rich experience. I'd long been fascinated by this region's history, but writing about it is almost like time-travel and living in that era.
   
   
5. Did you start out to write Frozen for a young adult reader?
   
   One of the reasons I kept putting off writing this novel was that I wasn't sure who it was for. Prostitution is a taboo subject. And here I was envisioning a young woman grappling with her mother's past of working in a brothel. Was it for young adults or adults? I finally decided to simply write the book and see what it wanted to be. So much of writing is about listening to the emerging story. I finally decided to get out of the way.
   
   My editor thought it should be for adults. The marketing crew thought it should be marketed for YA readers. I'm seeing now that this book is a true cross-over, finding plenty of readers among adults and teens, males and females.
   
   
6. Did any part of the book cause you consternation?
   
   I originally envisioned letting the flashbacks unfold as they are now constructed, but at one point I received advice from esteemed adult novelists at a workshop in Key West to start with the flashback and let it roll all out at the beginning. I should have trusted my instincts. It's a reminder how we are all so vulnerable as writers; even though I have plenty of books to my credit, I didn't follow my gut on this one. Before sending it to the U of M Press, I reconstructed the story by metering out the flashbacks throughout.
   
   
7. Would you write another book for young adult readers?
   
   Absolutely! I'm getting requests from readers for a sequel to FROZEN. If I continued with her journey where the story now ends, I'd be following her into life still during the Prohibition, but now she would be l9 years old.
   
   Would that make it a YA book or a novel for adults? Should I let that stop me? And if you think a sequel is a good idea, let me know. I may need another armful of courage!

Thanks for reading and discussing FROZEN. With so many great books out there these days, I'm honored.

Also, if you haven't seen the book trailer, you can watch that in the next section of this page. Finally, please visit my facebook page: www.facebook.com/mary.casanova.fan.page.

In this suspenseful historical novel set in northern Minnesota in 1920, 16-year-old narrator Sadie Rose, who has been mute since her mother's murder 11 years before, discovers clues to the trauma that silenced her (“Other than an occasional cry or moan, my voice had died with Mama years ago. Silence. My sanctuary and prison”). Sadie Rose lives in cloistered luxury as the ward of a prominent state senator. When Sadie Rose finds racy photographs of her mother and begins to remember her past, she finds the strength to speak, explore, make friends, rebel, and eventually run away to a frontier town to seek the truth. Casanova (The Klipfish Code) creates a strong sense of place and ably establishes her story's historical context. The narrative confronts weighty issues including prostitution, mental illness, and political corruption, but some are boldly presented and then tidily resolved. Although Sadie Rose's transformation into a daring and self-assured young woman is rather rapid, given her silent and highly sheltered upbringing, readers should find her an admirable heroine as she finds her voice and her future. Ages 13–up.
—Publishers Weekly

… Fabulous book! My first from Mary Casanova but it will definitely not be my last. —My Serenity Blog (book review by Nova Reylin)

Mary Casanova knows the lakes and woods of northern Minnesota as few other writers do, and she brings them to life along with an intriguing mystery set in that region’s dark past.
—Marion Dane Bauer, author of On My Honor

Mary Casanova’s novel is a gripping blend of history, family secrets, danger, and love—set within the breathtaking landscape of northern Minnesota in the 1920s. Readers will be drawn to the gutsy character of sixteen-year-old Sadie Rose as she tries to break her silence and unravel the mysteries of her dark past. A page-turner from start to finish!"
—Shelley Pearsall, author of Trouble Don’t Last

Compelling and believable.
—Kirkus Reviews

Sadie Rose finds her voice not just to reconstruct her past, but to advocate for her future—a future in which words will be powerful tools.
—Booklist

… Although I am from Minnesota, the knowledge that the fight to save the forests and waters of northernmost Minnesota against unyielding industry began so long ago was fascinating. I think we all like to believe our generation is the one that began the quest to save the world from itself. As the story evolved, I could picture the scenery and situations that unfolded, which really brought the story to life for me …
—Rhonda Weidling, Twin Cities Daily Planet