A Perfect Snow

August 12, 2002
An angry teen gets involved with a white supremacist group in Martin's (The Eagle's Shadow) uneven problem novel. Ben Campbell's embittered dad can't find work and the family has moved to a trailer park in Lodgette, Mont. Feeling snubbed at school, Ben, who narrates, responds to the racist rhetoric of the "Guardians of the Identity" meetings his father takes him to, and experiences a surge of power when he sets a Jewish lawyer's car on fire. But when he, along with others, throws rocks at an allegedly gay student's windows, the victim's face reminds Ben of his younger brother, David, and Ben feels unexpected remorse. He's further troubled when the group's leader praises the vandalism, making it "sound as if we were doing something good and positive," and Ben sees his errors in what reads as a sudden about-face. Befriended by rich Jason and dating Eden, who turns out to be part Jewish, his eyes are opened further—but he cannot stop David from becoming more involved with the group. While much of the prose is graceful, Ben and the others unfortunately come across less as three-dimensional characters than as vehicles for general observations about the roots of hate; for example, as the Guardians' leader accuses "the Jews" of taking over the banks and the government, Ben thinks, "For the first time everything made sense. There was a reason for Dad losing his job." Quick resolutions combined with the thinly developed cast yield a relatively simplistic handling of a complex issue. Ages 12-up.