Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen" (1844), the novel incorporates elements of Scandinavian shamanism and mythology, much of it derived from the epic poem the Kalevala (1835).

Along the way, she meets retired adventurer Madame Eriksson and her friend, a princess from a southern kingdom, who outfit Gerda with winter supplies and arrange a carriage for her to travel through the wilderness in the north.

After conversing with the natural spirits, Ritva eventually decides to escape from her clan and join Gerda in her pursuit of Kai, stealing her mother's shamanistic artifacts and going on a short spiritual journey to foresee their path.

[4] The novel also includes elements of northern Scandinavian shamanism;[5] Kernaghan became interested in literature on the subject while conducting research for her previous work Dance of the Snow Dragon (1995).

[9] Communications scholar Sanna Lehtonen viewed the matrilineal structure of the novel's shamanistic tradition as part of a broader trend in contemporary fiction, rooted in radical feminism, to replace the negative stereotypes associated with witchcraft, supplanting "wicked crones and evil enchantresses" with wise or sympathetic figures.

[11] However, Ritva ultimately rejects her matriarchal heritage in an assertion of individualism as she also views her mother as an irritable "hag", which Lehtonen found to be a discouraging conclusion from the perspective of ethnic identity.

[12] She also wrote that the Finnish elements derived from the Kalevala are not clearly delineated from the details drawn from Sámi traditions, such as the presence of natural spirits and the shaman ritual of singing while beating a drum.

[6] The landscapes that Gerda encounters grow increasingly supernatural as she approaches the Pole, and Findon wrote that her rising unfamiliarity with her surroundings "[mirrors] her emotional journey" and search for identity as a young adult.

[16] Both huts are integrated into the surrounding landscapes, which Findon found reflective of Ritva's connection to the "primal power of the land", and both old women comment on Gerda's hidden inner strength and determination.

[7] Findon felt that a subversion of gender stereotypes is present in Gerda's initiative to pursue her love interest as well as her employment of deception to achieve her objectives, both roles typically occupied by male characters in traditional tales.

[8] She also wrote that although the tasks set out by Aurore have the trappings of a fairy tale confrontation, Kernaghan's version "violates gender expectations" by featuring women in all roles of the conflict.

Writer and critic Russell Blackford, in an article for The New York Review of Science Fiction, thought the novel was an "engaging fantasy", particularly appreciating the character-focused conclusion, which he found "touching".

However, he disliked the characterization of the novel's antagonist, Madame Aurore, as a woman of scientific accomplishment, a choice he found "completely gratuitous" and an unwarranted attempt by Kernaghan to cater to a potential anti-intellectual stance among her younger readers.

[25] Science fiction writer Paul Di Filippo praised Kernaghan's "quiet, economical, but carefully considered" writing style in a review published in Realms of Fantasy.

[27] Locus reviewer Carolyn Cushman called the story "intelligent [and] magical", and felt that it surpasses the merits of Andersen's original in several aspects, including the ending, which she found "bittersweet".

[29] In a review for Cinescape, writer and critic Denise Dumars commended the portrayal of the Sámi peoples in contrast with the Victorian-era Danes, and felt the novel was a "wonderful retelling" of the original tale.