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East Edith Pattou Books

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East Edith Pattou Books

Her mother was facing north when Rose was born…which means that that the girl will be a traveler, a wanderer. Add to that the prophecy that this Norwegian north child will perish in an avalanche of ice and snow, and you can see why Rose’s mother wants her to never go out of doors. But superstitions can not always be heeded when reality is bleak. As the family farm fails and starvation looms on the horizon, a white bear appears, asking for Rose be given to him in return for a change in fortune.

As her parents disagree over what to do, Rose agrees to the white bear’s request and finds herself riding on his back to a magical castle carved within a mountain. As the mystery of her new surroundings deepens, Rose develops a companionship with the lonely bear, and eventually discovers, through her own folly, just how strong is the enchantment which binds him as he is whisked away from her side. What follows is an epic journey that takes Rose from the forests of France to the fjords of Greenland, as she discovers how warm a fire love can kindle in the coldest reaches of the world.

I have always adored the fairy tale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon.” In this novel, the tale is placed in a meticulously crafted sixteenth century world and told with prose as crisp and clear as the Arctic air. Some of the magical and mythological elements of the original are removed, but the central enchantment surrounding the polar bear remains unchanged. The author uses five narrators to make the story come alive, a brave and successful stylistic choice that added to the glory of the story. I particularly enjoyed having the Troll Queen and Rose’s brother Neddy’s perspectives on the unfolding of events. Although this book is touted as a middle grade novel (no doubt due to the absence of offensive material in it), I highly recommend it for all interested in fairy tales and fantasy.


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East Edith Pattou Books Reviews

I usually don't read fairy tales, but this book looked intriguing. It ended up being a pleasant surprise, and I enjoyed it a great deal. It was so similar to a story that I read as a little girl that I remember had a white bear with a girl riding on his back. One of the things that I liked about this book was that it didn't have too much magic or enchantment in it which made it more believable. Rose had to journey to find the man who was the white bear, and her journey wasn't easy. I would highly recommend it.
This was a very fun and adventurous read. I originally picked it up because it seemed like it would be a spin of a Beauty and the Beast tale. While it does start off that way, it quickly turns around where the damsel must become the heroine, which was a unique and fresh take. It took me a while to get used to the storytelling feel of it, which was my only complaint. I feel like the story could have definitely been better if it were done in a different point of view, but that is just my personal opinion. However, this doesn’t take away from the beauty of this tale.
This book took me by surprise. As a child, my favorite fairytale had been East of the Sun, West of the Moon. This retelling appeared as a suggestion on my . I had never heard of it, nor the author. I will now search out other books by this author, as I absolutely loved East. I just finished, devoured it really, and actually want to start again, to reread now that I can read it more slowly, savoring the beautiful writing and enchanting yet somehow realistic, nordic tale. I especially love that I discovered, after reading the book, that the white bear prince, was based on an actual French prince! I just highly recommend this book!
Until reading this book, I had never heard of the fairy tale, "east of the sun, west of the moon". But when a librarian friend highly recommended this story, I looked up the old tale to get a better understanding of it before diving into this. I came away very impressed with this new interpretation of the old story, and in fact, I actually prefer THIS version over the original tale, as it fleshes out the backstory and characters, and leaves us with something on par with "Beauty and the Beast".

In the villages of Norway, sometime during the 16th century, a poor mapmaker and his superstitious wife tend to their seven children; especially keeping an eye on their youngest daughter, Rose. There is an ancient belief that children inherit the qualities of the direction in which they are born, so the wife has a child for each point of the compass, save for North, because it's believed that North-born babies are wild, unpredictable, intelligent, and destined to break their mothers' hearts because they all leave home to travel to the far ends of the earth . As it turns out, Rose is actually the last of EIGHT kids; born to replace one that died of an illness. To keep her close, Rose’s mother lied and told her she had been East-born; never revealing that Rose was actually a North-born. But destiny cannot be denied, and when another sibling falls gravely ill, a talking white bear shows up at the family's door; promising that if Rose leaves home and journeys with him, the family will become happy, healthy, and wealthy. Wanting to save her family, Rose jumps at the chance for an adventure, and leaves with the bear, who whisks her away to a magical castle. There, she discovers the true identity of the white bear...and when her actions harm her new friend and evoke the wrath of a selfish Troll Queen, all of Rose's strength, courage, wits, and new found love will be put to the ultimate test as she braves the deadly Arctic Circle to rescue her bear friend and stop the Troll Queen; an adversary who lives in an ice palace that lies "east of the sun and west of the moon".

Simply put, Edith Pattou has created an epic. Her descriptions of Norwegian homesteading; the wildlife and harsh conditions of the Arctic and sailing its unrelenting seas, and the magic of the enchanted castle and ice palace were so vivid, I could picture everything clearly in my head. The author definitely did her research in telling how life was way back when; down to the details of what people wore, ate, and believed in. And such details are never confusing; they're explained in a way that's easily understandable, yet not textbook boring. And I found it very clever how the basics of the old fairy tale were rewoven into this new setting; adding in plot points about the superstitions behind birth directions and compass points, as well as recasting the magical North, South, East, and West winds of the old story to be actual people who help Rose on her adventure.

Which brings me to the characters. Although the story is told in the first person, we actually alternate view points between Rose, her father, her brother, the white bear, and the Troll Queen; all of which have their own unique voices and perspectives on the fairy tale unfolding. Rose especially is a great character and role model. Although she's always adventurous, she starts off much more wishful and reckless, but over the course of her harrowing journey to save her friend, she learns to be more patient and careful with her actions, and actually has to WORK to earn her happy ending. While she gets understandably afraid at times, and makes more than a few mistakes, she finds the will and courage to power on through and do the right thing; determined to write her own destiny and not just give in to fate.

The only nitpick I could give is that the last act seemed just a tad rushed to me. The villain is defeated rather quickly, and the reasoning and origin behind her white bear servant is left vague. I seemed to like the journey getting there more than the destination itself. But I can forgive it, as the weaving of the classic fairy tale with old Nordic superstitions and Norse mythology and Inuit beliefs had me hooked and made up for it.

On the whole, I learned a lot of history about the ancient times of the Arctic, as well as discovered a new fairy tale I had never heard before; all while enjoying a breathtaking adventure. If you like your magic mysterious, and good old fashioned girl power, this is the book for you.
Her mother was facing north when Rose was born…which means that that the girl will be a traveler, a wanderer. Add to that the prophecy that this Norwegian north child will perish in an avalanche of ice and snow, and you can see why Rose’s mother wants her to never go out of doors. But superstitions can not always be heeded when reality is bleak. As the family farm fails and starvation looms on the horizon, a white bear appears, asking for Rose be given to him in return for a change in fortune.

As her parents disagree over what to do, Rose agrees to the white bear’s request and finds herself riding on his back to a magical castle carved within a mountain. As the mystery of her new surroundings deepens, Rose develops a companionship with the lonely bear, and eventually discovers, through her own folly, just how strong is the enchantment which binds him as he is whisked away from her side. What follows is an epic journey that takes Rose from the forests of France to the fjords of Greenland, as she discovers how warm a fire love can kindle in the coldest reaches of the world.

I have always adored the fairy tale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon.” In this novel, the tale is placed in a meticulously crafted sixteenth century world and told with prose as crisp and clear as the Arctic air. Some of the magical and mythological elements of the original are removed, but the central enchantment surrounding the polar bear remains unchanged. The author uses five narrators to make the story come alive, a brave and successful stylistic choice that added to the glory of the story. I particularly enjoyed having the Troll Queen and Rose’s brother Neddy’s perspectives on the unfolding of events. Although this book is touted as a middle grade novel (no doubt due to the absence of offensive material in it), I highly recommend it for all interested in fairy tales and fantasy.