First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
- Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
- Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
- Finally… reveal the book!
In the depths of Siberia, in the harshest cold, an eleven-year-old girl dressed in grey overalls crossed the assembly square on the way to her prison quarters. She walked alone. She blew on her hands for warmth and left her breath behind her. It made white whirligigs through air laced with ice.
Any ideas?




I’m really looking forward to this one! It sounds like the perfect winter read. The Goodreads synopsis:
A gorgeous, snowy adventure, set in the wilds of Siberia, full of magic and wonder, for junior readers. We used the book as part of our Authorfy writing club. I also have had a copy of the proof to give away to our Writer of the Term closer to Christmas which is a very special treat for him/her. It was very hard to resist reading it, and waiting for publication instead!
Born in a Soviet prison camp, Lina has never seen the world outside until the night she escapes with her best friend, Bogdan. As the pair journey across a snowy wilderness, they are pursued by a vengeful sorceress and her pack of shadow wolves. The children will need every ounce of courage – and a whisper of magic – if they are to survive…
This sounds amazing! And I’ve just finished a book set around Inuit culture so I’m all for the cold wilderness at the minute. Ill definitely be adding this to my TBR
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The opening is fantastic- it will be my first read after I finish Believathon!
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Can’t wait to hear your thoughts 😊
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Sounds so sad though.
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I think it will have sad parts, but I always read middle-grade knowing that, despite any sadness, there will be an uplifting ending. I hope this is true for this one too!
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I hope so.
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This sounds so good! Sounds like a perfect read for this time of year too!!
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I think it will be a brilliant December read!
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