Powerful, moving, relevant.
A compendium of Norse tales from the age of the Vikings.
In ninth-to-11th-century Scandinavia, the world was, to the humans who inhabited it, a place full of spirits, gods, trolls, giants, and dwarves. Midgard (“Middle Earth”), where humans lived, was also home to giants and dwarves and a place where spirits of the uneasy dead walked. The gods lived in Asgard, above Midgard, and occasionally came to visit Midgard by way of a three-strand rainbow bridge. The five tales gathered here, mostly from Iceland, have a powerful, unadorned way of going, reflecting the subsistence lives of the people who created them as a way to make sense of their often capricious existence. A mother and father implore the gods for help to save their daughter from a troll. A human girl is given the gift of flax by the goddess Frigg, wife of Odin, the Allfather. While the archaic details may be unfamiliar, the basic essence of the human condition comes through loud and clear—and comfortingly. With each story, readers will realize both the close connection the people felt with the natural world and how deeply they lived their spare and forceful existence. Equally spare and forceful are the masterful illustrations. Silhouette spots are interspersed with dramatic, limited-color double-page spreads that show off and deepen the narrative, sometimes portraying harsh, raw, and even frightening scenes, sometimes gentle and illuminating ones; each is a tour de force of design and execution.
Powerful, moving, relevant. (Traditional literature. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1771-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick Studio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
A striking and heartfelt debut.
Fifteen-year-old Marjan Dastani discovers hidden family secrets and assumes new responsibilities after her father dies.
Until his murder, Marjan’s Iranian immigrant father was a veterinarian who ran West Berkeley Animal Clinic. Now, the high school sophomore, whose Norwegian American mother died of cancer years earlier, is left trying to run the business. Francesca Wix, her African American neighbor, is now her legal guardian. As Marjan attempts to keep her father’s veterinary practice afloat, she ruminates on her resentment of the demands it made on her father’s time—and is startled to learn that she is part of an ancient lineage tasked with healing mythological creatures. The layers of complex emotional and identity issues Marjan tackles give her character great depth; moments when she reflects on her connection to Persian culture feel natural and raw. The more readers learn about how she helps fantastical animals, the more is revealed about her father and the mystery surrounding his death. Marjan also deals with emotional triggers that do not allow her to bury her feelings, and the exploration of grief will affect readers deeply. The detailed visual descriptions clearly conjure up the enchanting world Monsef has created, one populated by expressive, surreal beings, each of which has its own backstory.
A striking and heartfelt debut. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781665928502
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
A sensitive, moving debut.
When 11-year-old Eric Harper begins caring for an injured unicorn, his life is changed by the choices he makes, the relationships he forms, and the secrets he uncovers.
Eric lives with his family on land that has belonged to Harpers for generations and shares a special bond with his grandmother. One day, Eric spies what he thinks is a white deer but quickly realizes is a white unicorn. Filled with the “most amazing feeling of comfort and happiness and excitement,” Eric follows the lame unicorn to the farmhouse his ailing grandmother recently sold to Dr. Brancusi, a veterinarian, and her daughter, Allegra. (All three characters appear to be white.) Dr. Brancusi senses Eric’s concern and asks him to help her treat the unicorn. Discovering the unicorn is pregnant with twins, Dr. Brancusi warns Eric they must keep her hidden until the babies are born and hires him to assist. Eric’s affinity to the unicorn deepens, and when she’s threatened and runs away, he frantically searches. In the end, although Eric experiences loss, he gains a special family connection. Despite the presence of supernatural creatures, Eric’s quiet, genuine, first-person voice tells a realistic story of family love and discovering one’s true self, the presence of the unicorn and other magical creatures adding just a touch of whimsy to a story about very real emotions, revealed in Green’s black-and-white illustrations.
A sensitive, moving debut. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: July 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-76112-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
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