Week 7 Review: Ice

From Goodreads:
When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.

Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back — if Cassie will agree to be his bride.

That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her — until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.

My first review of Ice
My Review:
Wow, this was a fantastic read! It's been so long since I first read it, that it was basically like it was the first time! It was a little strange to have read it so close after reading Echo North, since they're both retellings of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, but they're different worlds, and different characters, and I enjoyed them both!

Cassie has a heck of a journey. First she becomes the Polar Bear Queen, because of bargains made in the past by various family members, and the one she makes to bring her mom back. And then that bargain goes sideways, sending her on a quest to retrieve her husband! 

From the time where she lights the candle and looks at him until they were reunited, I was just very frustrated at him for not telling her why she couldn't look at him. Of course it's because that was part of the bargain, that he couldn't tell. Bah.

I just love this world with the Munaqsri, and how they collect the souls of the dead in whatever population that they control, and then those souls are what bring life to the babies of that population. It's just a very clever idea! And yeah, loved how that tied into in the end, with the trolls! Just a fantastic idea! 

This was such a great read, and I'm honestly still hoping for just a little more time in this world! That ending was just so abrupt! 

Author: Sarah Beth Durst
First Read: November 22nd, 2012

Read: February 12th, 2022
Source: Library
Reason Why: Rereading! And it's a 2022 Retelling Reading Challenge Book and a SAC 2022 Book!
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: September 27th 2009

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars