Eowyn Ivey calls Black Woods, Blue Sky her “complicated love song to Alaska” (“PouredOver: Eowyn Ivey on Black Woods, Blue Sky.” YouTube, uploaded by Barnes & Noble, 13 Feb. 2025). The Alaskan landscape has always been central to Ivey’s storytelling. In Black Woods, Blue Sky, the wilderness is not just a backdrop but also a character. As an Alaskan, Ivey’s intimate knowledge of the landscape allows her to depict the setting with vividness. The author says that Emaleen is autobiographical, that her father inspired Arthur, and that some scenes from the novel are taken directly from her childhood. She also says that the book explores the fear she experienced as a child. Through an adult’s eyes, Ivey takes something complicated that she experienced and turns it into art. Just as the work reflects her respect for the Alaskan wilderness, Ivey’s novel also demonstrates her contemplation of how past traumas and familial relationships shape one’s identity and choices.

Black Woods, Blue Sky is not a direct retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but it shares thematic and symbolic parallels with the fairy tale. Ivey’s story replaces the enchanted castle with a spartan cabin in Alaska’s wilderness.