East - Edith Pattou

In the good old USA we have the story of Beauty and the Beast. It's a classic that we all love. Well there is an old Norse tale called East of the Sun West of the Moon, that is their version of Beauty and the Beast. I read a book called Sun & Moon, Ice & Snow by Jessica Day George that i previously blogged about here. So when I came across EAST and realized it was a retelling of the same story I had to read it. It reminded me of a Mercedes or Shannon retelling. One that is deeper and fuller than just a basic retelling. I had thought before that SMI&S was just a made up story kind of a Beauty and the Beast retelling for people in snow. But I've realized it is a very big fairy tale up north, and a beautiful one at that.

Rose comes from a family with a very superstitious mother (that plays a lot into the story), and a poor mapmaker in a father. One day a White Bear arrives at the home promising wealth and health to the family if Rose goes with him. She goes to live with him in a grand castle carved in a mountain. She has company in the bear, but he is well a bear, and doesn't talk much. She gets lonely and homesick. .... well read it yourself. Rose is an adventurer and it gets her into tough spots more than once. She meets and learns from Inuits. She befriends an unfriendly seaman, gets tossed around at see, almost dies trying to find the northern lands. And of course there is a little romance, it is a fairy tale after all.