<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p>Shortlisted for the Sixth Annual Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize - Literary Fiction Category!</p><p>Shortlisted for Best Speculative Fiction at the 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Awards!</p><p>Shortlisted for Best Book Design at the 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Awards!</p><p>Every year since 1904, when the ice breaks up on the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton has crowned a Melting Queen--a woman who presides over the Melting Day spring carnival and who must keep the city's spirits up over the following winter. But this year, something has changed: a genderfluid ex-frat brother called River Runson is named as Melting Queen. As River's reign upends the city's century-old traditions, Edmonton tears itself in two, with progressive and reactionary factions fighting a war for Edmonton's soul. Ultimately, River must uncover the hidden history of Melting Day, forcing Edmonton to confront the dark underbelly of its traditions and leading the city into a new chapter in its history.</p><p>Balancing satire with compassion, Bruce Cinnamon's debut novel combines history and magic to weave a splendid future-looking tale. </p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br><p>Praise for <i>The Melting Queen</i> <br /><br />Heartfelt, flawed, and beautiful, <i>The Melting Queen</i> is a modern fairy tale. Cinnamon creates a lost history, writing a legacy for River Runson that honors missing ancestors and gives Edmonton a second chance to confront the truth of its hypocrisy around oppression and expression.<br /> Letitia Montgomery-Rodgers, <i>Foreword Reviews</i><br /><br />... a worthy, interesting read based on the essential idea that now is the time to unmask history and change what no longer serves us.<br /> <i>Booklist</i><br /><br />The novel, much like its protagonist and, I suspect, many of Edmonton's inhabitants, has an ambivalent relationship to the city it imagines: calling out its failings ... yet insisting on finding and, if necessary, inventing stories that reveal the extraordinary.<br /> Jason Wiens, <i>Alberta Views</i><br /><br />Combining history and satire, this debut aims to lay a foundational mythology for Edmonton.<br /> Becky Toyne, <i>The Globe and Mail</i><br /><br />Bruce Cinnamon doesn't put a foot wrong in <i>The Melting Queen</i>, his fantastical debut novel. In addition to providing humour and a surreal plot, the author examines some serious themes: identity, friendship, betrayal, and politicians creating alternative histories.<br /> Margaret Goldik, <i>Prairie Books NOW</i><br /><br />... a captivating coming-of-age story with a clear hero who learns from the wisdom of their predecessors; intriguing villains who turn on the hero; and a surprising mishmash of once underdogs-turned-sidekicks.<br /> Rebecca Geleyn, <i>The Fiddlehead</i><br /><br /><i>The Melting Queen</i>gives Edmonton the mythological retelling it deserves.<br /> <i>Edmonton Journal</i></p><br>