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Jan 18, 2012

Lacey rated it:

This novel is a retelling of "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" which is probably one of the most underappreciated fairy tales out there. Unfortunately, this retelling doesn't quite do it justice. The author chose to use multiple viewpoints, which felt more like a gimmick and less like the best way to tell the story (especially since I was only really interested in the stories from two of the five narrators). Also, no one ever seems to have given Edith that all important advice to More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Mar 04, 2010

Camille rated it:

I absolutely loved this book. I've read it so many times and never has it grown old. I love how it shifts views and tells you what other people are doing and how it has many plots that all tie together in the book. I love the White Bear and I love reading what he has to say and the riddles and poems he speaks in. The chapters weren't long so you could just fly through the book with no trouble. I fell inlove with Rose and her personality from the beginning, the first few pages a a little slow, bu More...

1 comment like (16 people liked it)

Jul 01, 2008

Mary-Beth rated it:

For a re-telling this was very good. In many ways, other than just expanding on the original, this version seemed to try to add some realism to the tale. Fortunately it wasn't realism at the cost of magic. There was still plenty of magic. Don't look for anything staggeringly innovative here and the writing isn't perfect, but this is very readable.

The novel delineated an ordinary world from a magical world by making Rose's home life somewhat more mundane as well as keeping from her ma More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 12, 2008

Yati rated it:

Multiple first person POVs always throw me off. Always. This wasn't an exception, though I really liked the narrators, so it didn't distract me as much as if could have.

I'm a bit disappointed that the more fantastic aspects of the original folk tale were not included, but if I had never read the original story, I wouldn't have noticed they were missing.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

I loved this new and interesting fairy tale. Pattou's style was fresh and easily drew me in.

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2007

Dani rated it:

This book will waste your time. The story is entirely unbelievable and hard to relate to.

9 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2009

Meghan rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. It got a little slow near the middle, but it quickly picked up speed. I think the way Edith Pattou chose to write this book was interesting and I liked that you can read it knowing each persons point of view. The problem I had with the way the story was written is that sometimes you want to see the situation from somebody else's point of view and you can't. This left me with a lot of questions about what the other characters were thinking. I liked Rose a lot. She was More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2009

Heather rated it:

What a GREAT young adult fantasy! I loved everything about this book! Although it is almost 500 pages, it is a quick read. (Short chapters, larger print.) The story is based on the Norwegian fairytale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" which I didn't know until I read the author's notes at the end. I liked that even though it was a fantasy, it took place in a real time and place-16th Century Norway. (Read the glossery in the very back for modern names) I loved the mother's s More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 11, 2007

Michelle rated it:

I guess it is a retelling of the "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" or "The Polar Bear King" fairy tale, which I had never heard of before... to me it is Beauty and the Beast with a twist. It was a good read. The ending seemed to wrap it up a little too quickly for me, and with a little to much "back to reality." After all the action, I wasn't ready for it. I don't know what I would have changed though, so I shouldn't complain! :)

Update: After readin More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 30, 2009

Shayla added it

This story is amazing. "East of the sun and west of the moon" has always enchanted me, and I was so excited when I picked up this book knowing that it was a retelling of this beatiful story. I was not dissapointed. I loved the way that Edith Pattou gave each and every character a believable personality. In our world, every "villian" has a story behind it--no one is truly evil--and Pattou was able to portray that very well the way that she switched points of view between the c More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 17, 2012

Abby added it

Before I ever read this book, I wrote a short story retelling of the same Scandinavian fairy tale along the same lines--appropriating the plot but filling in the details. Fairy tales, like a lot of oral traditions, are plot-driven and survive on the basis of being a fantastic story, but they're not so good at explaining things. So I understand the impulse to fill in the gaps, which inspired not only this author but at least two other novel-length retellings of "East of the Sun, West of th More...

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Sep 27, 2011

BrigitteH rated it:

Have you ever heard of a talking polar bear? What about the Young Woman who chose to live with him of her own accord? I have, most recently in this book:Eastby Edith Pattou. With 494 pages, this might seem a daunting book to some; however, for me it was a favorite from the start. This story comes in many different packages: the source of this story is an old Norwegian myth that has been interpreted by many authors, I myself have read two other versions of it. This myth sends itself out as a book More...

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Aug 15, 2011

Maria rated it:

Inspired by the famous Scandinavian fairy tale East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon, Edith Pattou has created a rich novel which approaches the story in a fantastical yet believable way, including the previously untold perspectives of all main and secondary characters of the famed story. Nyamh Rose has a propensity to wander, much to the chagrin of her superstitious mother. Rose’s mother was once told by a fortuneteller that a child of hers born in the direction of the north was fated to die i More...

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May 23, 2011

Phoebe rated it:

I definitely had Ice in mind when I picked this up, and so I have to say...this book on its own gets a three star rating, but when compared to Ice? Just a sad old one star, a little pat on the back for the birthing position idea that is surely borrowed from the Chinese star-reading practice of Fengshui. One thing that bugged me to no end is how lacking Nyamh is in the department of resilience, resourceful and tenacity. Everything just went her way, she never had to work for it. The romance was a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 01, 2011

Lindsey rated it:

East is a book about a young Njorden girl named Rose. She is courageous, bold, and adventureous. One day, white bear asks for her to come with him and in exchange, he would bring her family wealth and make her sister well.

I really liked Rose’s mother’s character. She was so distinct and erratic that her presence added a whole new twist to the situation. I liked her superstitions, especially about birth direction. The fact that she would take such precautions to avoid having a no More...

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Mar 25, 2011

Addie rated it:

"East" by Edith Pattou is a historical-fiction-fantasy adaptation of the classic fairy tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." The fairy tale is classified as the "search for a lost husband" by Aarne-Thompson (am I spelling that right?) and deals with a young girl who leaves her family in order to live in an ice palace with a polar bear. Pattou's greatest achievement, perhaps, is translating the original tale into an accessible young-adult fantasy adventure. The s More...

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Mar 24, 2011

Karly rated it:

There are some books that are simply unforgettable, which engrave themselves on your heart forever. East is one of those books. While marketed to the unfortunate YA fiction market- presumably because the protagonist is young- this is an adventure that is appealing at any age.
The story is heavily centered around the "Beauty and the Beast"-esque Norse fairy tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," the tale of a girl betrothed to a white bear who turns into a man and lay More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 16, 2011

Jo rated it:

This is one of my favorite fairytale retellings, based on a lesser known Norwegian fairytale. I originally read the story in several of my favorite childhood books including The Blue Fairy Book and the beautifully illustrated (now out of print) East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North. There is also a great movie "The Polar Bear King" based on the fairytale that was filmed in Norway.This fairytale has also recently been surfacing in other retellings, such as Ice a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 19, 2010

Holly rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Nov 17, 2010

Chris rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 09, 2010

Margaret rated it:

East is a YA retelling of the fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon", a lesser-known but interesting variant on the "Beauty and the Beast" and "Eros and Psyche" tales. Rose lives in Norway with her family; when one of her sisters becomes dangerously ill and the family is about to be evicted from their farm, a white bear appears at the door and tells the family that if Rose will come with him, their troubles will end. Of course she goes with him and become More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 28, 2010

Elfdart rated it:

this was a refreshing version of the east of the sun, west of the moon story. i found the characters to be well composed and believable. in other variations of this story, the mother has been portrayed as evil or as hating the daughter, as happens with so many mothers in fairy tales, but in this version the mother’s actions were explained and even after she did what she did she showed remorse, and the birth direction thing, almost like a horoscope, was used very effectively in explaining the mo More...

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Jun 30, 2010

Vivian rated it:

The premise of this book, based off the story of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, is intriguing in itself. But this retelling is a worthy story in its own right, fascinating and icy, full of determination and painful hope. Rose's journey to not only her own, fitting identity, but true love, is pretty evenly paced (a bit slow at times), interesting, and sweet. We are taken along for a journey that shows Rose's growth and maturity, summarized quite beautifully in the prologue, actually. (I recom More...

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Feb 28, 2010

Mark rated it:

This child's story reads like a fairy tale. A magical story of a young girl sacrificed to a mysterious bear, who becomes her love and is of course, somehow cursed. Like the frog prince, eh? Only way better.

Also, there's Slank!
Others have tried to own this word before now. You'll recall the Grinch "slink, slank, slunk" up a chimney in Whoville on Christmas eve, Cormac McCarthy's dogs slank around the periphery of a smoky campfire, the urban dictionary offers various un More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2012

Ivanna rated it:

Я не ошиблась в выборе книги для чтения в новогоднюю ночь. Прочитала ее за 31 декабря 2011 и за 1 января 2012.
Поначалу бросалась в глаза некая примитивность речи, ПОВы, которые менялись со стремительной скоростью, что нельзя было успеть разглядеть ту или иную личность. Ну и чего уж там не жиюко между собой различаются персонажи, нету пресловутой психологичности (глубокой, что отличает одного персонажа от другого). Повествование линейное, концовка предсказуемая.
Столь высокая оценка от м More...

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May 23, 2011

Mark rated it:

Nothing particularly compelling or groundbreaking, but still a decent read. The style of swithcing narratives with each chapter was somewhat interesting, but probably could have been used to greater effect, as there's little compelling beyond the sections from the main character's point of view.. The sections with Rose's family do little to advance the plot, the White Bear remains a muddled cypher throughout, and the one truly interesting POV (the troll queen's) is never fully explored like it More...

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Aug 06, 2010

-k The Lady Critic rated it:

Ok, this is one of my favourite fairy tales to read, but this wasn’t my favourite rendition of East of the Sun, West of the Moon but it was still really good. In fact, this was the first one that I’ve read where I can picture it happening (aside from the trolls and whatnot) but it was more realistic than any of the others that I’ve read.

Now, I’m normally not one who enjoys reading a book written from alternating perspectives but with this book it worked. In fact, the fact that the T More...

3 comments like

Jul 19, 2010

Donna rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Jul 07, 2010

Ellen rated it:

Reading this and Ice (a retelling of the same fairy tale, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon") in the same year was probably a mistake. Both were very literal retellings, though Ice (which I liked better) was a bit more transformative.

Here's the thing: I am not a reader of romance novels, for the most part. However, if you put a romance in your books, especially if it's one of the central conflicts, I am going to notice if it doesn't ring true, and it doesn't ring true i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 28, 2011

Karen rated it:

A beautifully written heart-warming tale that had me hooked with plot. The first thing I saw about the book was the cover and immediately I was drawn to it, to me, it looked almost magical. The story is actually based on a Norwegian fairytale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon", even if you haven't heard of it before, this book will have you flying through the pages.

The character narration changes from chapter to chapter, sometimes the white bear, troll queen, Rose or her More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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