Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

Junior Fantasy. Ophelia is a young girl who has just lost her mother and has a father who is coping with the loss of his wife by focusing on his job as an expert on ancient swords. They travel to a museum for the winter so the father can work on an exhibit of rare swords. With this background Ophelia learns of a magical boy who is trapped and only she holds the key to his release and the safety of the world.

This is a loose adaptation of the fairy tale, The Snow Queen. It moved quickly and pulled me into Ophelia's world and her tendency to disbelieve the magic she saw around her. She discovers she is braver than she thought and some things just need to be believed to be seen. The story felt at times like dreams I've had that suddenly have strange creatures and unexplained plot twists and then ends too suddenly and leaves me feeling like I need to go back to sleep for five more minutes to finish the story, but not in an unpleasant frustrating way.

Recommend: Yes.