"Lystra's graceful prose is evocative of place and time....This is a rich and satisfying read."
—The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"The north woods of Michigan in 1957 proves rich emotional ground for Lystra's quietly impressive debut novel."
—Detroit Free Press
"There's a transcendency (in the book) common to all good coming-of-age novels."
—Time Out Chicago magazine
"Lystra....has written a beautiful novel that blends artistry with coming-of-age emotion."
—Grand Rapids Press
"This is a love story of a most unusual kind....There is a kind of innocence...that has not been so effectively portrayed since Salinger invented Holden Caulfield. Lystra's style is spare and direct and yet profoundly evocative...An absolutely stunning debut."
—Big Rapids (MI) Pioneer
"Lystra delves deeply into the minds and motivations of his characters, carving out an interesting and meaningful story."
—ANN ARBOR.com Newspaper (sucessor to Ann Arbor News)
"Lystra confounds all the simplistic, expected plot turns that such a (story) premise might inspire in a lesser writer and, by allowing his characters to develop slowly and naturally, brings them into convincing and honest actions."
—Current Magazine
“Season of Water and Ice has a heart big enough to be both gentle and unflinching, a masterly story powered by a young narrator uniquely wise and blinded. Read this wonderful book, fall into it, and it will change you.”
—Nick Arvin, author of Articles of War, American Academy of Arts and Letters fiction award 2006
"Let's not mistake Season of Water and Ice for a typical coming-of-age story. Its voice is too rich, its pacing too measured and elegant.... Donald Lystra has written a fierce and tender debut novel about the unreliability of love."
—John Dalton, author of Heaven Lake, Barnes & Noble Discover Award, 1st place 2004
“The prose style is plain, clear, and even Hemingwayesque. Season of Water and Ice is a north woods odyssey into manhood that is timeless and true.”
—John H. Smolens, Northern Michigan University, professor of creative writing and author of six novels
"Lystra has captured the voice and rhythms of adolescence with great skill. Season of Water and Ice is tersely told and generously realized.... It's a fine striking debut."
—Josh Henkin, author of Matrimony, a New York Times Notable Book for 2007
"Author Donald Lystra tells a tough but endearing story of two young adults grappling with some very difficult situations.... The book is not predictable in any traditional way.... Watch this book catch on with young adults and their parents."
—Mittenlit literary blog
“A poignant coming-of-age story told in vivid language evoking both the time period and the particular Northern Michigan setting.”
—Shaun Manning, founding editor of From Glasgow to Saturn, a literary e-magazine based at the University of Glasgow
“I was pulled in from the start and could hardly put it down…..Again and again, (the characters) manage to regain sufficient hope and vitality to envision happier days ahead, and it was this that kept me caring for them until the last surprising page.”
—Pamela Grath, owner, Dog Ears Books, Northport, Michigan
