Perfection has a cost…

- “A gemlike novel," The New York Times Book Review

- A Good Morning America Buzz Pick

- Indie Next Pick, American Booksellers Association

- Ten Noteworthy Books for November, The Washington Post

- Most Anticipated Books of November, Bustle

- November's Ten Best books, The Christian Science Monitor

- Noteworthy New Books, The Cleveland Plain Dealer

- Booklist starred review

  • "Both a searingly immersive tale and an important book for our times, Winterland is a must-read."

    — Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names

  • "Meadows paints a poignant portrait of life behind the Iron Curtain, palpably conveying her vividly rendered characters’ deprivation, longing, and self-sacrifice."

    — Publishers Weekly

  • "A story as gripping as it is a powerful rendering of the true cost of perfection [ ... ] I was left breathless."

    — Lara Prescott, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets We Kept

  • "Heart-breaking and thought-provoking [...] a story of unfolding friendship and adversity that will linger with readers for long afterwards."

    — Yangsze Choo, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Tiger

  • "Rae Meadows always writes with absolute clarity and power [...] weightless, strong, and capable of anything."

    — Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author All Adults Here

  • "Winterland gripped me from the first page."

    — Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward

  • "…a genre-bender that fluently integrates sports with accents from political and psychological thrillers."

    — Library Journal

  • "An enlightening portrait of a now-vanished world."

    — Kirkus

  • "With meticulous precision and smart, poetic prose, Meadows vaults us into the chilling and eerily relevant world of Soviet-era gymnastics."

    — Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were The Lucky Ones

I’m Rae Meadows, author of five novels including the forthcoming WINTERLAND.

Hello!