drearyletters's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
5.0
lanica's review against another edition
5.0
Librarians Review:
Kids today are used to fast pace...well, everything. Novels, computer games, songs, whatever they do...they expect it to be fast. This book is not fast-paced; even so, I would recommend this book to almost any middle school student. It has a mystery, treachery, romance, magic, battle, history, mythology, tension, redemption, realism...and it's just a darned good read.
Personal Review:
This is a book written for smart kids. A lot of it may be interesting to a wider audience, but overall it's a bit too simple for an everyday adult to read. If you like YA and/or Norse mythology and 'history', you'll probably love this book. If you are looking for something with 'teeth' - this isn't it.
Audiobook Review:
Excellent! I highly recommend this as an audio book.
Kids today are used to fast pace...well, everything. Novels, computer games, songs, whatever they do...they expect it to be fast. This book is not fast-paced; even so, I would recommend this book to almost any middle school student. It has a mystery, treachery, romance, magic, battle, history, mythology, tension, redemption, realism...and it's just a darned good read.
Personal Review:
This is a book written for smart kids. A lot of it may be interesting to a wider audience, but overall it's a bit too simple for an everyday adult to read. If you like YA and/or Norse mythology and 'history', you'll probably love this book. If you are looking for something with 'teeth' - this isn't it.
Audiobook Review:
Excellent! I highly recommend this as an audio book.
heidimrogers's review against another edition
5.0
This book had me from the start and I could not put it down. Such great concepts, characters, and story. I highly recommend!
elly29's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
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? No
3.5
A nice story, and I particularly liked the themes around storytelling and self-determination. I liked what Ulric did with elevation of Hilda the goat, and I liked Mjunin (the crow, Solveg’s memory). I wish there was a clearer trouble to focus on after Hilda, though. Hakka was all, “we have a traitor in our midst, o well” after the cow incident, and doesn’t do anything about it. Say, like set people into pairs to watch one another.
Overall, it was satisfying. Though, the hero should have been.
Overall, it was satisfying. Though, the hero should have been
Spoiler
Hakka, not Ulric, at the end when he hits the war hammer against the glacierkjersten's review against another edition
picked up at a little-free-library in IL and later returned to a little-free-library in MN.
raechsreads's review against another edition
5.0
Solveig and her siblings are hidden in a fortress as their father battles for their kingdom. They soon discover that there may be a traitor amongst them with no clue as to who it could be. Solveig attempts to find out who is the traitor and what her place is in her family, since her brother is the heir and her sister has her beauty for a good marriage. Will Solveig discover who she is and the traitor before it's too late? Such an amazing book! Highly recommend!
isabelle_rosewrites's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
aknas22's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely enjoyed this book! Couldn't put Icefall down once I started it and I ended up staying up way too late to finish it. Icefall is a coming of age story interspersed with stories about Norse mythology that added a different dimension to this book.
acaciathorn's review against another edition
4.0
Part mystery, part survival tale, and part love-letter to the power of stories, Icefall takes place over the course of one winter. The book centers on Solveig, the overlooked middle daughter of a Norse king, who is forced into hiding inside a mountain fortress along with her siblings, a small contingent of servants and warriors, and a group of her father's berserkers. As the winter presses on, she begins to learn the art of storytelling from her father's skald (“poet of the living past”) and also forms a bond of fatherly/daughterly affection with the most fearsome berserker of the bunch. However, the unending ice refuses to break, and terrible acts of treachery soon make it clear that a traitor lurks in their midst. In the end, Solveig discovers and learns to wield her own form of power, but it comes at a great cost.
Perhaps the most compelling feature of this book is the way the author weaves in little snippets and side-stories at the beginning of each chapter...until finally, in the last third of the book, they all come together, and you finally realize the context in which Solveig is telling them. It was also refreshing to read a YA book with no romance to speak of...it gave the author more time to flesh out and develop a couple of really compelling platonic relationships. In fact, romantic love was portrayed comparatively negatively in this book. If I had to nitpick, I'd say my primary complaint was the fact that the heroine's thought process was a bit...modern at times? I'm not sure. Something was a little off about it. But other than that, I would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a quick read.
Perhaps the most compelling feature of this book is the way the author weaves in little snippets and side-stories at the beginning of each chapter...until finally, in the last third of the book, they all come together, and you finally realize the context in which Solveig is telling them. It was also refreshing to read a YA book with no romance to speak of...it gave the author more time to flesh out and develop a couple of really compelling platonic relationships. In fact, romantic love was portrayed comparatively negatively in this book. If I had to nitpick, I'd say my primary complaint was the fact that the heroine's thought process was a bit...modern at times? I'm not sure. Something was a little off about it. But other than that, I would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a quick read.
scribesprite's review against another edition
5.0
More people need to read this. Really it’s such a great book. The writing was unique in a way that I liked. It wasn’t overly flourished, using big words and lenghty sentences to convey a message and yet it added to the story’s magic. When people scoff about YA and middle grade books I think of these kinds of books. They are worth reading even though it’s written for a younger audience. I just don’t know how authors can do it.
In this book we have Solveig who is the second daughter of the king but because she isn’t pretty enough to be of use with marriage like her sister, she feels inadequate. The setting is in a fortress that is surrounded by mountains and they are trapped for the winter. There is a war going on outside these mountains and they were sent there for protection but they soon discover that it’s anything but safe. There is a traitor in their midst.
I would say who my favorite characters are and why but I might give something away. So I’ll just say my favorite characters are Solveig and her little brother, who is also the heir to the throne, Herald. He is easy going and has a playfulness that still belongs to young boys. Herald has an effortless way with people, but he is still young and wants so much to prove himself. And Solveig, Solveig, Solvieg, who doesn’t love an underestimated underdog? She has to discover her self-worth during this winter. She has to be stronger than ever now and realize her talents.
The Berserkers are big thug looking guys that at first sight seem barbaric but Solvieg has a way of seeing the best in people. I grew to care about them as Solveig does and she grows to love everyone in the fortress even though she knows one of them has betray her, those she loves, and her poeple. Everyone is a suspect (only Solveig and Herald you are sure about) and when they are revealed Solveig is more sad than angry because it doesn’t matter, she still loves them. I was left guessing right up until the reveal, but that isn’t a surprise I’m not usually one of those reader who figures out the twist and tries to look for clues.
With self-discovery, betrayal, twists, treachery, love, Nordic myths, forgiveness, and even a little action there is a lot to look forward to in this book. Please try it if you are at all interested in fairy tales.
In this book we have Solveig who is the second daughter of the king but because she isn’t pretty enough to be of use with marriage like her sister, she feels inadequate. The setting is in a fortress that is surrounded by mountains and they are trapped for the winter. There is a war going on outside these mountains and they were sent there for protection but they soon discover that it’s anything but safe. There is a traitor in their midst.
I would say who my favorite characters are and why but I might give something away. So I’ll just say my favorite characters are Solveig and her little brother, who is also the heir to the throne, Herald. He is easy going and has a playfulness that still belongs to young boys. Herald has an effortless way with people, but he is still young and wants so much to prove himself. And Solveig, Solveig, Solvieg, who doesn’t love an underestimated underdog? She has to discover her self-worth during this winter. She has to be stronger than ever now and realize her talents.
The Berserkers are big thug looking guys that at first sight seem barbaric but Solvieg has a way of seeing the best in people. I grew to care about them as Solveig does and she grows to love everyone in the fortress even though she knows one of them has betray her, those she loves, and her poeple. Everyone is a suspect (only Solveig and Herald you are sure about) and when they are revealed Solveig is more sad than angry because it doesn’t matter, she still loves them. I was left guessing right up until the reveal, but that isn’t a surprise I’m not usually one of those reader who figures out the twist and tries to look for clues.
With self-discovery, betrayal, twists, treachery, love, Nordic myths, forgiveness, and even a little action there is a lot to look forward to in this book. Please try it if you are at all interested in fairy tales.