joseebutler's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve always loved Frozen, but this book solidified it for me. It was so good I cried!
reesiey2014's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book. I wish they’d made this into a movie as well. I loved the story I was completely drawn in from start to finish. Even though I knew how the story would end up for obvious reasons I loved reading about Iduna and Agnarr.
itsjoenna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really love Frozen, especially Frozen 2. When I found out about this book, I literally just screamed so loud it startled my cat. This book is like a precious gift to me. It answers so many lingering questions that I have. ALSO, Iduna and Agnarr's love story is very sweet and beautiful, feels cliche and predictable BUT it's still such a fun and lovely read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence
jdalton's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for providing an advanced copy of this book.
After Frozen 2 came out last year, I had a lot of questions. All the questions actually, especially about Iduna. So when I found out that this book was coming out, I was excited to get to learn more about her.
Despite knowing the beginning and end of their story already, I really enjoyed learning more about the middle part, where we get to see how Iduna and Agnarr's relationship grows from friendship to more.
Mari Mancusi does a wonderful job at bringing another story to life from the word of Arendelle. She writes the characters in a way that is familiar (as they ARE the parents of Anna and Elsa, and you can see where they get many of their traits). But even with the familiar parts, there is plenty to be surprised by. I laughed, I cried, and I am sure Frozen fans will love to add this to their collection.
After Frozen 2 came out last year, I had a lot of questions. All the questions actually, especially about Iduna. So when I found out that this book was coming out, I was excited to get to learn more about her.
Despite knowing the beginning and end of their story already, I really enjoyed learning more about the middle part, where we get to see how Iduna and Agnarr's relationship grows from friendship to more.
Mari Mancusi does a wonderful job at bringing another story to life from the word of Arendelle. She writes the characters in a way that is familiar (as they ARE the parents of Anna and Elsa, and you can see where they get many of their traits). But even with the familiar parts, there is plenty to be surprised by. I laughed, I cried, and I am sure Frozen fans will love to add this to their collection.
starcake's review against another edition
4.0
I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book. I saw this book on the bookshelves at Walmart a while back, and thought of reading it, as I saw Frozen 2 and was really curious about Agnarr and Iduna's love story. I saw a youtube video which reminded of it, and I spent the whole reading it lol. I'm so glad I did, since I really enjoyed reading their personalities and getting to know them, rather them just being nothing more than Anna's parents. I was surprised to find out they were spunky and silly and very playful, just like Anna. The book is filled with them just acting silly, playing hide and seek, doing silly dances etc. The book filled in the questions I had about the movie. Their love story was just the cutest, typical of any YA love story. This book is YA, though I would argue it younger YA/older MG.I though initially it was middle grade, though the scenes b/w them were typical YA ,a little more kissing than I anticipated. I think if it wasn't Disney, the author might have put out more lol. The love story is what I enjoyed the most ,and I LOVED the references it made back to the movies.
-Conceal, don't feel is referenced many times and is used by Agnarr as a motto.I was surprised to learn it was taught by his regent, and it is so deeply engrained in him I understand why he told Elsa all those years
-Do the next right thing is taught to Agnarr from his friend stuck in the mist
-I LOVED the chocolate reference. There is a scene where Iduna sneaks chocolate from a table at a ball, which I think correlates to Anna singing about stuffing chocolate in her face
-The most hilarious I found is that the way Kristoff tried proposing to Anna with the reindeers ,IS EXACTLY HOW Iduna proposed to Agnarr.
I loved finding out more information about the story, a few thoughts I had were
-I had wondered why the parents never told Anna or Elsa they were half-Northaldran. Turns out Iduna didn't even tell her husband literally until A SHORT WHILE BEFORE THEY LEFT FOR THE VOYAGE.I thought she would tell him before the wedding, but seriously in the 21 years they were married, she never had one moment to tell him? I find it hard to believe.
-I liked reading about Rita, agnarr's mom. She has a tragic story, turns out she was deeply depressed and unhappy stuck in a loveless marriage. Maybe Anna or Elsa could meet her in the future!?
-It really seems the book is trying to justify them locking Elsa up, in the ship, Iduna even questions if they made the right choices, and Agnarr says they did what they thought was right. I'm not sure what to feel about them, since I never felt they were terrible parents. The general consensus is they were terrible parents, so idk? Then again, what do I know. I could be wrong
-Conceal, don't feel is referenced many times and is used by Agnarr as a motto.I was surprised to learn it was taught by his regent, and it is so deeply engrained in him I understand why he told Elsa all those years
-Do the next right thing is taught to Agnarr from his friend stuck in the mist
-I LOVED the chocolate reference. There is a scene where Iduna sneaks chocolate from a table at a ball, which I think correlates to Anna singing about stuffing chocolate in her face
-The most hilarious I found is that the way Kristoff tried proposing to Anna with the reindeers ,IS EXACTLY HOW Iduna proposed to Agnarr.
I loved finding out more information about the story, a few thoughts I had were
-I had wondered why the parents never told Anna or Elsa they were half-Northaldran. Turns out Iduna didn't even tell her husband literally until A SHORT WHILE BEFORE THEY LEFT FOR THE VOYAGE.I thought she would tell him before the wedding, but seriously in the 21 years they were married, she never had one moment to tell him? I find it hard to believe.
-I liked reading about Rita, agnarr's mom. She has a tragic story, turns out she was deeply depressed and unhappy stuck in a loveless marriage. Maybe Anna or Elsa could meet her in the future!?
-It really seems the book is trying to justify them locking Elsa up, in the ship, Iduna even questions if they made the right choices, and Agnarr says they did what they thought was right. I'm not sure what to feel about them, since I never felt they were terrible parents. The general consensus is they were terrible parents, so idk? Then again, what do I know. I could be wrong
storyreader45's review
5.0
I enjoyed this book immensely. Although I hate to see characters die, this story gave a lot of explanation behind the whole Frozen story and how their family came to be with the added stuff and two fresh perspectives of the story we knew from both Frozen movies. Iduna and Agnarr have an interesting story and I recommend this book for anybody who loves Frozen.
soph22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
lakeh's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Like, it's fine. I'm definitely not the demographic for this book but I needed a book based on a movie for pop sugar 2023 and I'm trying to expand my range.
The writing is probably middle-grade range so this book is easy to just tear through. There's a lot of repetition and winks to stuff that happens in the Frozen movies, which is fine. But most of the book is kind of just nothing. Also I totally thought a subplot would branch off into a big issue, but the crux of the book rested on something that happens around the 75% mark and is resolved incredibly quickly with no issues so I was rather disappointed by that.
At the end of the day, you know what happens to the parents so there's nothing surprising or fun at the end of this book, and it doesn't really add anything to the Frozen universe. If you don't need this book for a reading challenge, read a fanfiction instead.
The writing is probably middle-grade range so this book is easy to just tear through. There's a lot of repetition and winks to stuff that happens in the Frozen movies, which is fine. But most of the book is kind of just nothing. Also I totally thought a subplot would branch off into a big issue, but the crux of the book rested on something that happens around the 75% mark and is resolved incredibly quickly with no issues so I was rather disappointed by that.
At the end of the day, you know what happens to the parents so there's nothing surprising or fun at the end of this book, and it doesn't really add anything to the Frozen universe. If you don't need this book for a reading challenge, read a fanfiction instead.
zorasorel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5