Rose was born to replace a sister she never knew. She was meant to be an East born child, mild and docile and staying close to home. But Rose was born facing North, a wanderer, bound to find danger. The White Bear was once not a bear. He was once a prince, who showed kindness to a stranger. But the stranger was a troll princess and soon he was caught in an enchantment, his freedom gone. Rose’s parents have kept her birth-direction a secret, hoping to keep her from harm. but when she is 15 the great white bear comes to them and asks that she come live with him. In return he will return her sister (who is very ill) to health and make her family wealthy beyond their dreams. Feeling betrayed by her parents, Rose agrees and soon finds herself living in an enchanted castle. She grows fond of the bear, but one night, her curiosity about their circumstances gets the best of her and she makes a choice that endangers both of their safety and the enchantment.
When I decided to read this, I had a copy of Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
There a few things I didn’t love, but I find that to be true with so many fairy tales. My main issues with this one are further detailed below, but the basic idea that a girl’s curiosity leads to terrible consequences for someone she loves isn’t one that I support.
Age Recommendation: This was filed Juvenile at my branch of the public library while the rest in the system have it as Young Adult. I would say it’s Young Adult because there is an underlying theme of romance and love, but there’s really not so much as a kiss, so it’s likely chaste enough for middle grades readers who are reading above grade level. I’d say advanced fourth grade readers up through teens would enjoy this. Honestly the most off-putting thing is an important part of the fairy tale – that someone is getting into bed with Rose each night and she doesn’t know who it is. And that there are terrible consequences for her finding out. Her mother is made out to be the bad guy because she sort of bullies Rose into peeking at her bed mate, but mothers out there, I know you’re with me on this, what kind of mother wouldn’t insist her daughter knew who was sharing her bed???
Great for: This is a perfect pick for readers who have torn through more traditional fairy tales. Encourage them to try this rather than yet another retelling of Cinderella. The ice and snow theme should also appeal to all of the Frozen fans out there. While based on a different fairy tale, East should contain similar enough elements to capture their curiosity.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Not really sex, nudity or dating, but there’s an awful lot of talk about birth – what happened when Rose’s mother gave birth, what direction her father’s mother was facing when she gave birth to him, about laboring, pregnancies and morning sickness cures, the pains of childbirth, it goes on and on. There’s also a pretty detailed description of Rose’s birth, with her father being able to see her foot and that she was facing the wrong way. Rose’s father delivered her. A love charm is mentioned. A woman prepares to marry a man who does not love her and is forced to stay with her. A man jokes that he would make a good husband to Rose. One of Rose’s sisters becomes engaged to a much older man. Rose tells someone that she loves him. Rose has children.
Profanity – “damnable”, a man swears in Portuguese. A man shouts curses at his crew.
Death, Violence and Gore – A woman goes to some type of fortune teller who predicts that her sister’s husband will die at sea and that she will have a child who dies a cold, horrible death, suffocating under ice and snow. A couple’s eight year old daughter died. Several people die in an influenza epidemic. It is suggested that a family arm themselves. A family has had two children die. A troll is sacrificed. There’s a mention of a ewe dying after birthing a two-headed lamb. A woman’s husband died. A little girl tells tales about a creature that steals your bones. A man is badly injured, bleeding heavily, with limbs at strange angles from his body due to breakage. Some of his cuts are so deep that you can see the bone. Rose must stitch up wounds and set bones. Rose knows the look of an animal ready for death – she’s seen it on a lamb with a broken neck and a mother cow who has lost too much blood. Someone dies at sea. A man’s son and wife died at the hands of murderers. A character murdered a man, thinking he was someone who killed someone who was close to him. Rose must carry several knives. A wind is said to be strong enough to flay the skin off a human. A story is told about a girl whose parents were lost at sea. A seal is killed for food, first harpooned, then bludgeoned with a club, spattering blood on the ice. Rose is attacked by an animal and bleeds. Seals also must be skinned for eating. There is black water that makes flesh fall away from bone. People are whipped, one to death. People are kicked as punishment. People are beaten. Rose is hit across the face repeatedly until her lip bleeds. The troll queen contemplates killing a troll child. There is a killing field where humans are left naked to freeze to their deaths. A character who we are fond of is killed. Many are killed in a massive avalanche, others are injured. People die of cold or of withdrawal symptoms during an escape. Another woman dies after a fall and her corpse is disposed of. Trolls kill people who wander into a forest unawares.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – There is a drink called slank which seems to be a kind of alcohol. At any rate a woman who drinks lots of it falls asleep. A man drinks too much wine. He believes he has hallucinated due to intoxication. A captain spends much money on ale and is clearly drunk. He drinks pretty much continuously during the chapters in which he is featured. A man is said to be overfond of mead. A man suffers withdrawal symptoms but recovers from alcoholism.
Frightening or Intense Things – A troll queen takes a boy. A bear carries a child in its mouth. A poem Neddy writes describes a woman as the queen of the dead, with hair of snakes who takes her victims to Hel. He uses imagery of blood and bones as well. Bad luck begins when a girl is born. Neddy also writes about a white bear dispensing death. A family is nearly starving. A girl is ill. An offer is made, one girl must go to save the other. People are kept as slaves. A mother sends away one daughter to an unknown fate for the chance to save another. Someone sneaks in bed beside Rose and she knows not who it is. There’s an evil queen. People are terribly ill. Some characters are on board a ship in dangerous weather.
