East (original 2003; edition 2003)

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Rose is the youngest of seven children. She was meant as a replacement for her dead sister, but she never felt like she fit in with her other siblings. An enormous white bear shows up one day and asks Rose to come with him in exchange for the health of her sick sister.

Okay, it helped that "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" has always been one of my favorite fairy tales, but this re-telling is just great! I loved the way Pattou expanded on the directional thing, making the family originally a family of map-makers, and giving each of the eight children in the family a different birth-direction, a fact which is very important later on. Rose was just the right amount of spunky and sweet.

I'm not a big fan of books told from a number of different points of view. Two I can handle, but more than that starts to feel disjointed. I feel this way about The Moonstone, for example. (Which is why I'll watch the movie rather than read the book. Greg Wise and Keeley Hawes aren't bad motivators either, I'll admit.) East was no exception, but I liked the book overall enough that I ignored my inward mutterings.

No content advisory that I can think of, although I did read this several days ago and things like that tend to fade very quickly for me. I am pretty sure that there's nothing objectionable though.

One of the things I liked about this was the way it pulled in bits of historical information without ever feeling too bound by the real world or too anachronistic in feel. It's a fine line to walk and Pattou did it very well.

Highly recommended to slightly more mature readers. ( )

Okay, it helped that "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" has always been one of my favorite fairy tales, but this re-telling is just great! I loved the way Pattou expanded on the directional thing, making the family originally a family of map-makers, and giving each of the eight children in the family a different birth-direction, a fact which is very important later on. Rose was just the right amount of spunky and sweet.

I'm not a big fan of books told from a number of different points of view. Two I can handle, but more than that starts to feel disjointed. I feel this way about The Moonstone, for example. (Which is why I'll watch the movie rather than read the book. Greg Wise and Keeley Hawes aren't bad motivators either, I'll admit.) East was no exception, but I liked the book overall enough that I ignored my inward mutterings.

No content advisory that I can think of, although I did read this several days ago and things like that tend to fade very quickly for me. I am pretty sure that there's nothing objectionable though.

One of the things I liked about this was the way it pulled in bits of historical information without ever feeling too bound by the real world or too anachronistic in feel. It's a fine line to walk and Pattou did it very well.

Highly recommended to slightly more mature readers. ( )

Absolutely wonderful retelling of a lesser-known but fascinating fairy tale, "East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon." The heroine is smart and strong-willed, adventurous enough to get into trouble and to get out of it, rescuing a prince in the bargain. The multiple points of view weave intricately, like Rose's own handiworks, and the anthropological research underpinning the story (especially for Norway and Greenland) enrich the setting and characters, adding a realistic tenor to the fantasy tone. ( )

This is one of my absolute favorite stories! I never get tired of reading it over and over again. This is just one of those books you'll want to read to your kids. A mix between "The Polar Bear King" and "Beauty and the Beast" this story will enchant you into a world where directions have meaning, the first baby gift has significance and where a young woman goes on an adventure of finding new worlds and falling for a most unexpected creature. ( )