What a beautiful coming of age novel.

 

When a Viking king faces war, he packs his three children and a small household off to safety in a hidden hall in a glacier. There’s Asa, the beautiful eldest daughter whose father refuses the bride price offered for her by an older rival king; Harald, the only son and youngest of the three siblings, destined to be king after his father; and Solveig, the plain, spare middle child. But he also sends a horde of berserkers to keep the family safe, and Solveig believes there is a traitor in their midst.

 

Don’t expect grand fight scenes or lots of action in this book. Most of it revolves around Solveig slowly uncovering who the betrayer is, if there even is one. She is also led down a merry path of discovering her own identity in that of a skald, a kind of Viking poet and storyteller (and such, also a kind of historian, since Viking history was largely verbal), and the power and confidence she gains in that role.

 

There’s no ‘magic’ as such in this – it’s much more historical than fantasy, set in the real world hundreds of years ago, though Solveig is convinced her recurring dream is a terrible prophecy. The pace is kind of slow but consistent, quietly catching you off guard as months pass in the story, giving Solveig time to grow and develop among the icy realm. There are a lot of beautiful stories within this story, as she discovers the power of the skald to comfort, or intimidate, or educate. It’s written well enough that you can guess the twists before they occur, although I was a little disappointed that it turns out to be a male character on the cover of this book.

 

I think that is why I took so long to finally read it: the cover looks strikingly (lol) Middle Grade – an illustration with a man/boy on the cover instead of the female protagonist we actually get. It’s also a Young Adult novel, and although we do get to explore the concept of love in this novel, we don’t get to experience romantic love with Solveig. I found it conspicuously absent, especially since one of the other characters, a childhood friend around the same age, seemed to be the prime candidate for a love interest. Instead, Solveig guides us through the love she feels for her family and the platonic love she feels for the other members of her household, including her beloved pets.

 

I listened to the audiobook, and while this didn’t deliver extreme emotional punches, the narrator was fine, doing a variety of accents and tones to indicate different characters. At first I thought her voice was a bit ‘young’ to be Solveig, but this book turned out to be kind of a crossover to Middle Grade anyway so it worked just fine. Her delivery and pronunciation of foreign terms and names was impressive.

 

Icefall caught me off guard and I fell a little bit in love. It reminded me a lot of A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C Bunce. If you’re looking for something similar in tone, character, and quiet strength, you might enjoy this one. Solveig’s strength is not the kick-butt action heroine we’ve come to expect from YA in recent years. Maybe that’s a good thing, because this was published in 2011, and as such it has been a nice little palette cleanser for me.

La figlia dei ghiacci è entrato a far parte della mia libreria lo scorso anno, comprato usato allo stand del Libraccio al salone del libro di Torino. Me lo ricordo bene perché due minuti dopo averlo acquistato me lo sono fatto autografare da Paolo Barbieri, dato che la bellissima copertina è una sua creazione. Non so bene cosa dirvi di questo libro, non ho le idee molto chiare, e questo mi succede praticamente ogni volta che un romanzo mi piace da impazzire: ho amato La figlia dei ghiacci e non so il perché. Sicuramente hanno influito due cose: da diverso tempo non leggevo libri fantasy non urban e non avevo alcun tipo di aspettative. Quale che sia il motivo, questo romanzo mi ha stregata.

 

È scoppiata la guerra e il re ha deciso di mettere i suoi figli al sicuro presso una fattoria situata in un piccolo fiordo, sconosciuto ai più, assieme ad alcuni servitori e alcune fedeli guardie. Le giornate dei ragazzi si succedono nell’attesa di un messaggero che dica loro che finalmente possono tornare in patria: i viveri cominciano a scarseggiare e l’inverno è alle porte. Quando ormai ogni minima scintilla di speranza pare essersi esaurita, una nave compare all’orizzonte, giusto poco prima che il fiordo si ghiacci: ma l’aspetto dell’imbarcazione non è quello tanto atteso, si tratta senza ombra di dubbio di una nave da guerra. E loro non hanno molto con cui difendersi.

Piaciute queste poche righe di trama? Bene, scordatele, perché potrebbero essere fuorvianti. La figlia dei ghiacci non è un fantasy pieno di guerre e battaglie come magari si potrebbe erroneamente pensare leggendo il primo capitolo, di cui in pratica vi ho fatto il sunto: ci sono degli scontri, questo sì, ma non è questo il succo della faccenda. In Icefall assistiamo alla crescita di Solveig, figlia di mezzo del re e protagonista del romanzo, ma soprattutto a farla da padrone sono le Parole sotto forma di Storie.  La figlia dei ghiacci è un inno al potere del racconto: uomini indomiti e senza paura si fanno piccoli piccoli di fronte a storie e leggende ben raccontate e recitate, che fanno breccia nella loro sicurezza molto più di asce e frecce. Le parole giuste, nel momento giusto, sono medicine potenti e sono in grado di consolare o ferire con estrema rapidità. Del resto i cantori, nel mondo creato da Kirby, prendono l’azzeccatissimo nome di “Scaldi”.

 

“Le storie ti offrono un modo per vedere le cose. Un modo per capire gli eventi della tua vita. Anche se mentre ascolti la storia non lo comprendi.”

 

La mitologia cui si rifa Matthew Kirby è quella nordica, per cui nelle storie di Solveig incontriamo Thor, Odino e Loki, e ho molto apprezzato questo dato che non sono molto ferrata in materia ed è molto piacevole leggere miti diversi da quelli greco-romani ed egizi. Interessanti e ben sviluppate sono poi le dinamiche tra i vari personaggi, che occupano gran parte del libro: l’autore delinea ognuno dei presenti alla fattoria senza rifarsi a inutili cliché e senza cadere nello scontato, creando persone che per me oramai erano diventate quasi reali. Più volte, a libro chiuso, mi sono trovata a immaginare Solveig in piedi in mezzo alla stanza, in attesa del suo momento, del momento perfetto per una storia.

 

La figlia dei ghiacci è un romanzo che cattura, una storia fatta di tante storie, ognuna speciale, esattamente come ognuno di noi.

Icefall by Matthew J Kirby

 

The Diviners by Libba Bray

 

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

 

Zelah Green by Vanessa Curtis

 

Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

 

Random collection, I know. these are the ones my library has that I like the sound of.

Reading books will always be my favorite way to spend the day, but it’s especially true during the colder months. Endless hours of darkness to sit by a fire or a nice warm lamp, curled up in a comfy chair or wrapped in a blanket, a warm mug filled with a nice hot beverage in one hand and a book in the other.

 

With these warm thoughts in mind during the cold months, it’s time to look into some winter-themed Middle Grade and Young Adult books that will melt your heart and freeze your spine. The cold, dark months may be a melancholy time for some (I cannot express how often I re-read Jane Eyre in the winter), but it can also be a time of exciting adventures or bone-chilling ghost stories.

 

 

Image via We Heart It

 

At the first snowfall, begin your winter story time journey with Let It Snow. A freak blizzard hits a small town and disrupts everyone’s Christmas plans. Three different sets of characters, all in some way known to one another, tell their 24-hour story of what they did that stormy day.

 

After you’ve taken a break to go sledding, pick up Breadcrumbs. Forge a friendship with Jack and Hazel and help Hazel find her friend after he’s captured by the Snow Queen. Dive further into the lighter reading with The Mysterious Howling. Touch base with your inner canine at Ashton Place and wreck havoc on your home -- figuratively, of course.

 

As night falls, immerse in the chilling ghost story, The Dead of Winter. Explore a haunted mansion owned by a tormented master, and help young Michael solve the mystery of the mistress’s death in the frozen moat. Look out for the ghosts in The Poisoned House, and guide Abi on her quest to discover who exactly poisoned her mother. Be sure to have all lights turned on for this evening!

 

The next morning, grab your sword and prepare for a magical battle in Witchlanders. Beware who you trust, the young farm boy destined to save his village or the powerful warrior destined to find his second half. Continue your adventure in Icefall, and discover the traitor in the midst that prevents everyone from leaving the claustrophobic fortress of ice.

 

Take a trip back in time to turn-of-the-century Paris, inside a cold abbey guarded by gargoyles in The Beautiful and the Cursed. Fight demons, discover inner powers, learn of the protective instincts of gargoyles, and experience the presence of angels like never before with Ingrid and Gabby. Fast forward to Cold War Russia in The Boy on the Bridge. Fall in love and question the motives of everyone around you.

 

After your whirlwind adventure through time, pick up that beloved, worn copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and cry tears of happiness when Harry discovers he does indeed have a true, loving family. The cold stones and warm hearths of Hogwarts will always be there for those who seek it.

 

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Laura Crockett is a graduate student, bookseller, Anglophile, tea devotee, musician, and book hoarder. Everything good in her boils down to her Midwestern upbringing. Follow her Downton Abbey obsessions on Twitter (@LECrockett) and book interests on her blog http://scribblesandwanderlust.wordpress.com

See this review over a Kara's blog, Great Imaginations!I like to read about things I enjoy. But when it comes to things I love, I tend to steer clear. Like Norse mythology and Vikings.I find that I am super protective of anything relating to Scandinavia, and to save the author from a poor review and myself of some rage, I just avoid the genre. However, when I saw this one at my local library, I was sorely tempted by the description, and by the cover (I know- deadly road to walk).I am so happy that I read this book. It is beautiful. Soveig and her royal siblings struggle to solve a deadly mystery while waiting for winter to release the waters of the fjord and return them back to their kingdom. The plot was a tightly-woven suspenseful journey. However, it was the underlying messages that made this book shine. Beauty comes from within Yes, this message has been beat into our heads from the moment any child picks up a book, but Icefall points out HOW and WHY inner beauty is better. Solveig often envies her elder sister, Asa, for her Nordic beauty and inherited attraction, but her sister lacks integrity. Asa flat out tells Solveig that the beauty of the mind, wisdom and courage, will not fade like external splendor. Personality qualities remain when youth disappears. The qualities of the men, such as the Berserker Captain Hake, glorifies that your heart, not your face, is the real meaning of beautiful. Love and characterKirby shares a story centered around paternal and protective love instead of strictly relying on romantic love. Yes, I want to see love and passion in the books I read, but it becomes so commonplace that I find that I grow cynical at times. Icefall points out that love is not just a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Love is so much more than amour. We all need bonds that stand separate from flirtation and sweetheart promises; we need love of fellowship and family.Icefall incorporates character into the novel as well. Doing what is expected or safe is not always the right thing to do. As Shakespeare states: "To thy own self be true." The sacrifices and discoveries made by all of the characters in the novel challenges the reader to think about the importance of your own morals, and what they are worth. Is it worth dying by remaining yourself? Is it better to live a lie and survive to see another day? What makes you who you are? Norse mythology and writingThe Vikings were not just savage humans who ransacked most of modern Europe. The Norse were also lovers of words and stories, and Kirby just flat out did an outstanding job of using this forgotten tradition. The writing and the similes did not stand out as forced prose and flimsy comparisons. Kirby used a wonderful sense of language and imagery to drive his message home. Stories keep us hopeful and strong. Tales and songs can heal wounds. Solveig and her own journey to become something more than herself played up the idea that it is the audience, the listener, the reader and the dreamer that feed on the words and imagination of the storyteller.Norse mythology and symbolism, thankfully, was well respected by the author, and he spoke to the reader as if they were already well versed in such knowledge. Side note: if you do not have a fairly sensible background knowledge of Norse mythology, this story might seem a bit confusing.I would highly recommend this book to all of my Viking lovers. The characters were great, the writing was sophisticated and properly accomplished, and the struggles of a girl looking for her own beauty struck a soft spot for any girl who dreams of beauty and self-worth.