East

Pattou, Edith. 2003. East.

This one is really really really good. A true must-read in the fairy tales novelization genre. Told through many narrators, it retells the fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" in a way that just works. I couldn't imagine when I picked it up that I would like it so much. That it would take the place of Beauty by Robin McKinley or Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. But this one is just oh-so-magical. It's rich in detail and it's just wonderful. If I don't sound quite myself, it's because I'm sick. And I hate being sick. It clouds the mind and makes reviewing difficult. But the book is due back tomorrow...so there was no waiting.

First sentence of prologue: I found the box in the attic of an old farmhouse in Norway. It was large, the size of a footlocker, and there were markings on it; runes, I learned later.

First sentence of chapter one: Ebba Rose was the name of our last-born child. Except it was a lie. Her name should have been Nyamh Rose. But everyone called her Rose rather than Ebba, so the lie didn't matter. At least, that is what I told myself.

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© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews