Edith Pattou

It seemed like there were too many storylines and wayyyy too many false endings. The "why" behind several key points in the story felt shallow (as did some characters reactions). Some characters were expendable but weren't "expended."

It was a clever mix-match of fantastical legends and other tales (Here's looking at you Hans) but I liked the first one better. But teenage me would have lapped this up. So maybe I'm just too old and cynical.

Classic fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" is transplanted to 16th-century Europe for a story about cartography, weaving, and trolls.

East is filtered through multiple voices: some of these perspectives make sense (the heroine, the bear, the troll queen); some of them are less explicable (Rose's father and brother, who do little of note). The book does a nice job of grounding fairy-tale archetypes and conventions into a realistic setting, but it doesn't do anything show more particularly innovative or radical with the material. I craved pulpier thrills, but East tends more to the mellow and low-key. show less

I admit to some apprehension when I began reading this book. Its predecessor East is one of my all-time favorite books and it ended perfectly. A sequel was unnecessary, to my mind.

And yet, reading this sequel so many years later (half a lifetime for me!), I fell into the familiar spell that East initially cast on me. West follows the same formula of the "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" fairytale, but it's different enough that I was never bored.

I still maintain that East didn't show more need a sequel, but since Edith Pattou decided to write one, West is a worthy continuation of the story of Rose and her White Bear. show less

The day before school starts, eight teens lives collide in a shocking event. The novel is told from each teen's point of view in a free verse. Each character has their own chapter through their point of view in their own style. Faith's narrative has short, staccato lines while Felix's is more of a conventional one that covers most of the page. I like how the style plays with the tempo it's read at and gives each character a memorable flavor. I usually don't like free verse, but I think it show more worked here. Each chapter gives insights into the characters, their motivations, and their past. Every character was well fleshed out. Even the characters who had done the most despicable things had likable aspects.The book just flies by and only took me a couple of hours to read. The actual momentous event that changes everyone's lives is a tragic amalgamation of bad decisions and bad luck. The aftermath is sobering, but not altogether hopeless. I would recommend this for people looking for an unconventional read. show less