Ice by Sarah Beth Durst - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

Mar 13, 2010

Valerie rated it

Shelves: retellings, fantasy

I've already read the other two retellings of east of the sun, west of the moon (or was it the other way around?). I thought for sure I was going to love it like I did the other two but it didn't capture me as much as I had hoped. It is still full of romance (more so than the first two) and adventure. I can say that Durst is a good writer. She captures great scenes like the castle and I could vividly imagine characters like Bear. Durst shows real creativity in whole concept of "MOON-awk-sre...more

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Mar 26, 2010

Cara rated it

Recommended to Cara by: Ash

Shelves: 2010, fantasy, fairy-tales, awesome-covers

I was way beyond excited when I heard this book was going to come out. Frankly I was downright giddy with excitement. Like many other reviewers have mentioned I had already read East and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow so I'm already familar with the old Nordic tale. I'm not going to say I didn't like it, I did, but it's hard for me to give it a hearty recommendation.

Cassie is a modern girl, but in her own way is quite different from your "normal" teenage girl. She has been rais...moreI was way beyond excited when I heard this book was going to come out. Frankly I was downright giddy with excitement. Like many other reviewers have mentioned I had already read East and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow so I'm already familar with the old Nordic tale. I'm not going to say I didn't like it, I did, but it's hard for me to give it a hearty recommendation.

Cassie is a modern girl, but in her own way is quite different from your "normal" teenage girl. She has been raised by her father and his scientific crew out in the Artic. She has never called any other place home and plans to keep it that way for the most part. But a bedtime story that deals with her mother, an enchanted bear, a family of winds, and ugly trolls will become more than just a pretty words in a story.

I don't want to give too much away but I think if I say that the bear in the story has "special" powers that are pretty awesome wouldn't give too much away. It is mentioned toward the beginning of the book. Probably the most original part of the whole story. All the main elements of the fairytale are hit on and it was good to see the story take place in modern times when GPS isn't just 3 letters piled together. Cassie has to go through a tremendous journey and will have to use all her know how about surviving out in the ice, and just surviving in general to pull her through.

This book definitely did bring the tale from a different angle. Since Cassie is modern she is resistant in thinking all the magic around her is possible. She does her best to get accustomed to it and her strong willed personality helps with the changes. Slowly but surely she comes to realize how much she loves Bear, but one mistake could undo it all. The author does give rich descriptions of all the surroundings and makes the world totatlly believable. Humor is sprinkled throughout, but I do have a but... I liked Cassie and I didn't. Sure, it's tough having to feel betrayed and she is entitled to be angry. Honestly though she came off as whiny and another thing, there is this certain place she spends WAY too long in. I was just about to pull my hair out, but now that I think about that may have been the point. What did it in for me was the ending. Not bad, but less climatic than I expected, although I think that may have come from knowing too much about the general plot line. They weren't glaringly bad things, just my personal taste.

I do recommend reading it though and I have read other reviews that actually preferred this retelling compared to the other two. It depends on your personal taste. All the retellings are great and magical in their own way.

Marvelous cover.

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Dec 05, 2010

Alicia rated it

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy, fairy-tale-or-folk-tale-retellings, norse-mythology, reviewed, not-so-feminist-themes

Beautiful story, but I disliked the romantic aspects. The relationship between Bear and Cassie felt rushed, and in some ways was quite creepy. The Bear used his magic powers to forcibly impregnate her. Cassie had been taking BC because she had no interest in children, yet without telling her or asking for her consent, the Bear "fixed" her "chemical imbalance" caused by the pill using his magic and she was three months preggers before he told her what he had done. I guess ...more

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Dec 23, 2011

Nicole rated it

I love unconventional love stories! I was amazed by this story. It was one of the most beautiful tales I've read in a long time--a wonderful fairy tale. The writing was not only beautiful but the plot was intriguing that I had to keep reading and didn't want to put the book down. The depictions of the world in the book were described in a way that I felt I was there in the cold arctic (I recommend reading this with a cup of hot chocolate or else you might be shivering).

The romance wa...more

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Jan 06, 2012

Shweta's Book Journal rated it

Shelves: ya-fantasy

Those of you who know my reading taste will know how much I love fairy tale re tellings. I might be all grown up but the love for Happily Ever Afters where a fair prince gets to save the damsel in distress ,have been my favorite kind of books. Ice by Sarah Beth Durst though a retelling of a fairy tale was not exactly that kind of a book. I mean , there was the old fairy tale charm but it was more modern ,adventurous and the damsel in question , most definitely wasn't in distress. Atleast she di...moreThose of you who know my reading taste will know how much I love fairy tale re tellings. I might be all grown up but the love for Happily Ever Afters where a fair prince gets to save the damsel in distress ,have been my favorite kind of books. Ice by Sarah Beth Durst though a retelling of a fairy tale was not exactly that kind of a book. I mean , there was the old fairy tale charm but it was more modern ,adventurous and the damsel in question , most definitely wasn't in distress. Atleast she didn't keep waiting for her Prince Charming to do all the work ..My verdict - FASCINATING

Cassie grew up listening to a fairy tale. The one where in her mother is taken as a prisoner to the end of the earth and she has promised to give her daughter , that's Cassie, to the Polar Bear King as his bride to be. Living with people of science Cassie has long forgotten and rubbished this tale but on her 18th birthday she comes face to face with a unusaully large bear who talks to her! 'Now this must have a logical explanation' is what Cassie's mind tells her but her heart tells her that if the bear can talk then there are chances her mother too is alive.Just like in the fairy tale. So she decides to go along with the Polar Bear King and fulfill her mother's part of the bargian . Little does she knows that her destiny isn't as simple as that.

Reading about Cassie was refreshing. She sounded sane because even after the major jolt of realising that bears can talk, trolls exist and her mom whom she considered dead ,might still be alive she wasn't over whelmed. She was logical and smart .Her questioning and refusal to just take things at face value was a quality I liked about her. Though I have to confess that loving a polar bear isn't my idea of fairy tale but when Beauty could love Beast and we could all applaud and cry happy tears at that I believe Polar Bear King and Cassie's romance shouldn't be belittled. Polar Bear though a very important character was according to me over shadowed by Cassie. Story with a heroine who can act like a hero. Now this kind of fairy tales , I like.

Another great thing about the book was the mixture of science with fantasy. Cassie being a believer of science at heart uses her knowledge in helping the Polar Bear King in his fulfilling his duty.Let me tell you that part of the plot definitely didn't look out of place or forced.Goes to prove magic and science can co exist.If the author so wishes :)

Loved the Sarah Beth Durst's style of story telling. I have to say the book managed to keep me engaged to finish it in one reading.

One complaint though , somewhere after page 200 , all Cassie did was run. It looked as if the running was the only thing happening in the story. She was either running or devising plans on how to run. For that part of the book I too wanted to run ahead and skip to the point where she would stop and story would move ahead. Confused ? I guess unless you read it you won't understand what I am trying to tell you here. But this in no way made the story less enjoyable.

I would recommend this book to all YA fantasy lovers.
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Oct 28, 2011

Melissa rated it

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Huh, so this book was a bit different from what I originally expected. I have to be honest, I only picked it up because of the cover, I love polar bears. And the cover has some very beautiful artwork including a polar bear. It was in the young adult section, and while I do read young adult quite often, I'm not sure what age range I would classify this within the YA genre. The print was large and geared towards the younger end of the spectrum while the content seemed towards the older end of ...moreHuh, so this book was a bit different from what I originally expected. I have to be honest, I only picked it up because of the cover, I love polar bears. And the cover has some very beautiful artwork including a polar bear. It was in the young adult section, and while I do read young adult quite often, I'm not sure what age range I would classify this within the YA genre. The print was large and geared towards the younger end of the spectrum while the content seemed towards the older end of YA. And the novel is based off of a fairy tale (one that I hope to read someday).

Cassie has had an unusual life. Growing up on a research station in the arctic, her only companions were those that worked there and her father and grandmother. From a young age, her grandmother had told her a story of how her mom, having been promised as a wife to the polar bear king, instead ended up the prisoner of trolls. As Cassie grows, she concludes this was just her grandmother's way of softening the story of her mothers death. But on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie learns differently when the Polar Bear King comes to claim her as his bride instead. She makes a deal that if he will release her mother, she will become his life, and is whisked away to his icy castle (which she finds strangely beautiful). She likes the polar bear king, but just as they are growing closer, another bargain of his goes South and he becomes the prisoner of the trolls. Cassie knows she must find a way to rescue him.

Cassie was about the only character I could really like in this book. She was headstrong and courageous and wanted to follow her own dreams, although she was willing to compromise. I think that makes a decent sort of person. What I had a problem with were the rest of the characters. Her parents were weak and I was very unsympathetic to them. Other side characters only seemed to make problems.

But my biggest problem with the characters would have to be the Polar Bear King. Sure on the outside and superficially he seemed to be a pretty cool guy. Handsome, smart, interested in doing what was right for the world, what could be so wrong you say? Well, this is a young adult novel, and as such, most young adults tend to fall for the romantic and I can just picture young girls falling in love with this guy and thinking that the way he treats Cassie is perfect. When we look past his splendor though, what we get is a guy who wheedles her into doing things she doesn't want, leaves her along for long portions of time because of his devotion to his work (no matter how noble that's not healthy) and the biggest of all, sets about to "fix" her without any input or permission from her and claims it was because he loved her. Let's just say that what he did would be the equivalent to a guy hiding someone's birth control. I just have a lot of problems with him being the hero in the book because of that.

So now that I've ended my rant on the characters, I do have to say that I enjoyed the plot of the book. Although I haven't read the fairytale its based on I find this story concept enchanting and being set in the polar region its different from most fairy tales I've encountered. There are a few parts that get choppy and bounce around without making sense, but the majority of the book flows smoothly and has a great deal of unique fantasy aspects in it. There is some cussing in the book, but it was mainly mild, but I can see some of the themes being a bit too dark for someone who enjoys happy fairy tales.

An interesting book, despite my disgust with the one character I do sheepishly admit that I enjoyed reading it. I would only caution that if you're giving it to a teenage daughter to read, explain that the relationship is not a good one.

Ice
Copyright 2009
308 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2011

More of my reviews can be found at ifithaswords.blogspot.com (less)

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Jul 19, 2011

Miriam rated it

Shelves: fantasy, mythology, fairy-tale

There was a point, about 70 pages in, where I almost gave up on this book. I said (not out loud), "Wait, they're not going to storm the troll castle and rescue her mother? They're just going to hang around the Ice Palace making small talk? What is this, a rip-off of McKinley's Beauty with less interesting characters and prose?" But no, Stuff does happen, and I guess that slow part may be necessary for the reader to understand why Cassie is bored and lonely. Although personally I need n...more

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Jun 22, 2011

Donna rated it

Shelves: beauty-and-the-beast

I have to admit, I did not expect to enjoy this book very much. I had already read East, a book I thought would be very similar. Both are based on the story East of the Sun, West of the Moon. And true, they did have the same loose storyline. Very loose. But to my surprise, they were very different and I ended up loving Ice.
First off, I did not expect the book to take place in modern times. That was a nice twist. I loved the relationship between Bear and Cassie. I felt it was believ...more

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Jun 16, 2011

Ceilidh rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I’ve changed a lot as a reviewer since I started blogging about YA almost a year ago. I’ve matured my writing style, I’ve learned more about the publishing business, I’ve started to ask more questions and I’ve even made a few friends. I don’t regret my snarky sparkly beginnings because I had a lot of fun and sometimes you have to make a few mistakes to learn from. Nowadays I think I’m a much stronger reviewer and pick my reading choices based upon a more varied selection of reasons beyond snark ...moreI’ve changed a lot as a reviewer since I started blogging about YA almost a year ago. I’ve matured my writing style, I’ve learned more about the publishing business, I’ve started to ask more questions and I’ve even made a few friends. I don’t regret my snarky sparkly beginnings because I had a lot of fun and sometimes you have to make a few mistakes to learn from. Nowadays I think I’m a much stronger reviewer and pick my reading choices based upon a more varied selection of reasons beyond snark material. This is why I am glad I didn’t know about “Ice” until I saw it recently. Had I read this last year, I would have blown a gasket and written a review to rival the abusive angels. Now, all I can hope to do is articulately explain why this book made my skin crawl. For this reason, there will be major spoilers.

My interest in “Ice” was peaked when I saw that it was a retelling of “East of the Sun and West of the Moon”, a lesser known fairytale, and was intrigued to see how a YA retelling of a potentially highly problematic tale would work in a contemporary context. Unfortunately, “Ice” seems to be stuck in the Stone Age on so many issues, something that’s made all the more bitter by the fact that the book gets off to such a strong start. Cassie, at first, is a strong minded, hard working and intelligent young woman with high ambitions and an inquisitive nature. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for her to slide into a state of uncharacteristic stupidity, occasionally relieved with moments of clarity. However, it wouldn’t be fair to blame Cassie’s decisions for all the book’s wrongdoings, especially since she’s so often left without any real options. She’s practically forced into marrying the Polar Bear King in exchange for her mother’s safe return. Later on, she’s treated even worse, even by the man/bear who supposedly loves her.

There are elements of “Beauty and the Beast” in this tale and it does feel as is “Ice” is trying to replicate the Disney film’s romantic feel (many of the things Cassie says about Bear feel inspired by Belle), but Durst completely skips over any romantic development. There’s a jump in time and all of a sudden, a few weeks later, they’re apparently in love. It further weakens a story that desperately needs a strong author’s hand to make it convincing. Bear may be many generations old with equally archaic ideals but this didn’t adequately justify his actions towards Cassie.

There are certain things a romantic hero should never do. Tampering with a woman’s birth control is one of them. Cassie, who has been on the pill, finds herself pregnant because Bear used his magical powers to fix the chemical imbalance in her that was preventing a pregnancy. He didn’t discuss this with her, there is no instance of a conversation taking place between the two that discusses such matters, and he doesn’t even tell her she’s pregnant until she’s 3 months gone. I do not care how gracious or kind Bear was to Cassie earlier on (her words, not mine), you DO NOT DO THAT! True relationships are built on trust and mutual understanding. He never even talks to her about this. What makes it even more blood curdling is that Cassie forgives him. She kicks up a completely justifiable fuss beforehand, but in the end, she’s completely willing to give up all her future ambitions of university, a career and a life with her family, including her mother who she hasn’t seen for most of her life, to be a teenage wife and mother with a talking polar bear.

Sadly, this isn’t the worst part. After Cassie has to go on a quest to retrieve Bear, who has to swear himself to the Troll Princess due to a rather convoluted loophole that I won’t explain here because it’s inconsequential, everyone she meets is obsessed with the safety of her unborn child. Not her, just her unborn child. Every other spirit, creature and guardian that she meets, of varying species and ages, cares not for her but for the fetus she just happens to be in charge of for the next few months. One character, who is thankfully painted as something of a villain, keeps her captive and indirectly harms her in an effort to stop her saving Bear because the life inside her is more important than her own. Cassie is also given the nickname “Little mother” by these creatures. Her entire worth is based on the fact that she has a functioning uterus and that’s a hell of a lot more important than her own mind and decisions. Cassie doesn’t like this attitude, it angers her, and rightly so. But why doesn’t she display this anger towards Bear, who admitted that he wanted a wife to bear his children, a task he decrees to be the most important purpose of the marriage? Cassie isn’t stupid, yet she is completely willing to let the designated love interest make these decisions for her, even if they involve lying, and in the end it’s okay? Bear says he loves Cassie but for me, all I could see was a liar who was willing to sabotage a young woman’s life in order to get what he wanted. Cassie was left to be nothing but a breeding specimen with one use.

To be truthful, this is a well written book that is generally well paced and has an interesting mythology throughout the story. The action scenes are well done and when Cassie was an active heroine, I really appreciated. But I would be lying if I gave this book anything more than 1 star. I can’t get behind a romance built upon a much older man using an 18 year old girl in that way. Tampering with birth control and essentially trapping the wife you forced into marriage doesn’t not make you the romantic ideal, it makes you sick. Just because the original source material is old, that doesn’t mean one is obligated to keep the retelling stuck in the 1950s. Cassie was much more than a “little mother”, so to see her happily accept the fate she was forced into as the ideal life made me so sad. She was worth more than that. We all are.

1/5.
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May 30, 2011

Cherrylea rated it

Well, I'm not sure if it deserved a 5. Maybe a 4.5, since I seriously got bored in the middle, when she went on the quest to rescue her love. Oh well - the rest was fantastic, let me tell you.
I did enjoy the fact that it was set in modern time, since Cassie's view of all the fairytale-like happenings were quite interesting. I also liked the general idea of the munaqsri, and how we learn more and more about them, until the very end. There were pretty much no loose threads here - any problem ...more

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Mar 29, 2011

Traci rated it

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

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Mar 07, 2011

Marissa rated it

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Feb 05, 2011

cecilia rated it

Shelves: blue-covers, unique-covers, faces-covers, favorite-covers

ICE is a well-crafted fairy tale retelling of East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon that blends together reality and fantasy in a way that left me breathless. I would easily re-read this again to catch the nuances and understand the fairy tale world that Sarah Beth Durst has built from what I assume to be Eskimo mythology. The Polar Bear King is actually a munaqsri, which can be described as a soul caretaker who retrieves souls from the dying and delivers it to the newborn. Every living thing has a ...more

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Jan 12, 2011

Renee Thomas rated it

It started out with an interesting concept, a fairly likeable heroine, a unique and detailed environment and some classic fairytale elements to admire. Even if I never want to venture into the Artic and make my living on the ice fields, I could admire Cassie's resiliance and her determination to focus on what she loves, and work for it. The opening chapters really seemed to set the stage for a quite different adventure and journey to take place.
Then, along came the central relationship de...more

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Dec 30, 2010

Karissa Eckert rated it

This book is another retelling of the classic tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon". I got this through the Amazon Vine program which was ironic since last month I read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, another beautiful retelling of this classic tale. Overall I really liked this book; Durst did an excellent job at updating this tale to the modern day world. I have never read the original tale so I don't know how true this version of the story stays to the original.
...moreThis book is another retelling of the classic tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon". I got this through the Amazon Vine program which was ironic since last month I read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, another beautiful retelling of this classic tale. Overall I really liked this book; Durst did an excellent job at updating this tale to the modern day world. I have never read the original tale so I don't know how true this version of the story stays to the original.

Cassie is an 18 year old researcher at an arctic polar bear research facility. Since she was little her grandmother has told Cassie the story about her mother, the daughter of the North Wind and how she made a deal with the Polar Bear King. As she gets older, Cassie realizes that this is just a nice way of saying that her mother died. That is until one day she tracks one unusual polar bear across the ice pack. She finds that her grandmother's story was not a story but truth. Her mother may still be alive, but will she be brave enough to face the promise that will get her mother back?

This was a great re-telling. Cassie is a tough character and I liked her a lot. The Polar Bear King is also a wonderful character. The plot moved quickly and made this book an easy read that was tough to put down.

I also loved the mythos created around the Polar Bear King and the other beast-like keepers of souls. I am not sure if this was in the original story. But it was very creative and very different from how Jessica Day George dealt with the story in "Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow". Durst did an excellent job modernizing this tale. She worked in the researchers efforts seamlessly with the Polar Bear King's soul taking/giving duties. I love that she included modern cold weather technology and even little things like birth control. It was very well done and very creative.

Overall I liked this book a lot. Parts of this story remind me of "The Beauty and the Beast" too.

I didn't give this book 5 stars because even though I liked it it was not something I would read again. There were also some inconsistencies. Especially with Cassies's stages of pregnancy; I failed to understand how Cassie had morning sickness in her second trimester of pregnancy and not in her first, that was a little off. Also the second part of the book where Cassie goes seeking the Polar Bear King had a very different tone from the first part. All of the wonderful modernization that made the first half of the book so great fell off in the second half as the book transformed to a more traditional fairy tale.

A great story; I would recommend to those who like fairy tale retellings or fairy tales in general. I will be keeping an eye out from more of Durst's works in the future. (less)

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Dec 14, 2010

Bonnie at A Backwards Story rated it

Shelves: fairy-tales, fabulous-books

Due to all of this week's record-breaking snow, I thought it was the perfect time to talk about a recent gem I just finished reading entitled "Ice." It was my first time reading a book by Sarah Beth Durst and upon completion, I snagged her other two novels, Into the Wild and Out of the Wild, from the library. I look forward to reading them because I really enjoyed the world of Ice that Durst wove together for us. I initially picked up Ice because it revolved around a fairytale, which i...moreDue to all of this week's record-breaking snow, I thought it was the perfect time to talk about a recent gem I just finished reading entitled "Ice." It was my first time reading a book by Sarah Beth Durst and upon completion, I snagged her other two novels, Into the Wild and Out of the Wild, from the library. I look forward to reading them because I really enjoyed the world of Ice that Durst wove together for us. I initially picked up Ice because it revolved around a fairytale, which is one of my all-time favorite genres to read. It had been on my reading list for a while, but it wasn't until I started hearing positive feedback from fellow readers that I decided to actively read it. I don't know why I waited so long!

First off, I just want to say that Cassie is a kick-ass heroine. We need more girls like her in (especially YA) literature. I love the whole "Girl Power" movement that authors like Tamora Pierce (co-founder of Sheroes) have spent time nurturing. I think the only other recent author with amazing heroines that I've read lately is Kristin Cashore (If you haven't read her novels, particularly Graceling, yet, then what are you waiting for? Run, don't walk!).

Cassie is intelligent and knows exactly what she wants in life. She has a huge heart and cares deeply for the polar bears she researches. Right before her birthday, she finds out that a terrible burden has been placed upon her shoulders. Her grandmother used to tell her a fairytale about a polar bear king and the bargain he had struck with a mortal woman, supposedly her mother, who is now trapped in the troll kingdom as penance for breaking her word. Cassie never believed the story to be true until she actually encounters the polar bear, which is where Ice truly begins. Watching Cassie and Bear's relationship bloom feels infinitely fragile and wonderous. Cassie goes from loathing and fearing Bear and her situation to developing genuine feelings for him. She even blossoms as a person and realizes just how much she can help her beloved polar bears while working with Bear and soon becomes happy with her lot in life. When tragedy befalls the couple (through a situation that reminds me strongly of the mythological tale of Cupid and Psyche), Cassie sets out on a journey to reach the ends of the earth to save her beloved. Not only is the journey long and dangerous, Cassie is also heavily pregnant by the time the story is approaching its climax. I don't want to reveal much more, but there is one part towards the end that simply took my breath away and connected a lot of the dots in the novel for me in a way I hadn't realized was possible. That moment is when I stumbled head over heels in love with Ice.

The story itself has a unique formatting. I like that every chapter starts off with Longitude, Latitude, and Altitude coordinates. Not only is this important in the context of the story, it also reveals a lot about Cassie as a person and her prior way of life before meeting Bear. I really appreciate how much thought Sarah Beth Durst put into her novel. I really felt like I was in the Arctic due to how life-life and precise all of her detailing was. For example, I wasn't sure of what, exactly, a whiteout was when I encountered the term in Ice, so I looked it up. The other day while watching news coverage of Wednesday's blizzard, the newscasters kept tossing the term "whiteout conditions" around and I knew what to expect due to my research on the term.

I really adored reading Ice and look forward to reading more books by Durst. So far, this has probably been one of my favorite books, teen or otherwise, in the past couple of seasons. (less)

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Jul 15, 2010

Emily rated it

The novel Ice is another fairytale retelling of Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. What I really liked about Ice was that it the point of view character Cassie felt like an ordinary teenage girl. She felt distinctly modern, and not placed in some random unidentified historical period. Yet, despite the modern feeling of the characters and the setting the author still managed to make the story have that magical fairytale quality. I also really liked that Cassie was a very strong female character, and her...more

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Jun 24, 2010

Tammy rated it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ice
A young girl discovers that love really can make you walk to the ends of the earth for that special someone.

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst (Simon and Schuster)
As an ardent lover of all things mythical and fantastical, I think it pretty much goes without saying that I am a huge fan of fairytales as well as modern adaptations and retellings of these much loved tales.

I have to admit though, that when I picked up Ice, it initially didn't register that this was a modern rete...more

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May 18, 2010

Amy Thorne rated it

Shelves: based-on-fairytales

This is the third book I've read lately that involves a setting with a lot of ice and cold. And two of those are based on the "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" folktale. Huh.

I really like that particular folktale, and I guess that shows. In this adaptation, Cassie is a teen who has lived all her life with her father in an Arctic research station. And then, when she turns 18, a bigass magic polar bear (MINOR SPOILER) shows up and explains to her that her grandmother's ...moreThis is the third book I've read lately that involves a setting with a lot of ice and cold. And two of those are based on the "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" folktale. Huh.

I really like that particular folktale, and I guess that shows. In this adaptation, Cassie is a teen who has lived all her life with her father in an Arctic research station. And then, when she turns 18, a bigass magic polar bear (MINOR SPOILER) shows up and explains to her that her grandmother's old fairytale was actually factual family history and he's come to claim her as his wife. True story.

(SPOILER END, do pick it up here)

YA books are written and read, in part, as a way for young people to explore experiences that they have not had (and sometimes would not want to). This is in fact not unique to YA lit; adult fiction frequently serves the same purpose. The trick is doing it in an awesome way, a way that doesn't seem...awful, especially when it comes to romances. Ice does a fine job, I believe, especially compared to some other YA fiction juggernauts I could mention.

(SPOILERS AGAIN, BIGGER THAN THE LAST ONE)

In this case, the experiences are marriage (under duress) and pregnancy (wait, stay with me!). A fantasy experience (and a popular one, or so many YA characters would not have met their soul mates in high school over the years). Ice manages it without turning Cassie into a spineless doormat. She starts off independently minded, stubborn and intelligent--and she stays that way for the whole book. She gradually falls in love with her husband (having married him in exchange for his saving her mother) as he earnestly wins her over with his affection and personality. (MAJOR SPOILERS) When she becomes pregnant because he rights the chemical imbalance caused by her birth control (not knowing that it wasn't something that needed fixing), she is righteously pissed. And when he's spirited off, she goes to rescue him--despite still being pissed and knowing that no matter how much she wants it, they can't go back to how it was. She marches off pregnant, across the Arctic and the tundra, through hardships and dangers--she is going off to rescue her husband nine months pregnant with MOTHERF***ING TRENCHFOOT. When she's told that something might upset her worldview, she replies, "Don't worry about me. I married a talking bear."

This is the kind of teen marriage/motherhood I can get behind.

The side characters are terribly fleshed out--but this is Cassie's story, through and through, so that doesn't really matter so much. The pacing is very good, unlike another teen/morphing human romance I could name (cough::Shiver::cough), and Cassie herself is a vastly superior character to another supernatural romance female lead that I wish would just die and go away forever. This read is really worth it.(less)

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May 14, 2010

MaryBliss rated it

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, fantasy-sci-fi

Once again Durst tries her hand at mixing 21st century American teenage attitudes and modern technology with retold fairytales. This time it doesn't work very well. The story is an interesting idea, but Durst struggles with the prose about two-thirds of the way through. She tries to put too many adventures and too many messages in too small a space and as a result her characters begin to flatten as the story progresses and her description falters and becomes choppy and rushed. The transforma...more

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Feb 13, 2010

Rachael rated it

As a little girl, Cassie grew up with the story of the Polar Bear King. Her grandmother told he of how her mother had been promised to the Polar Bear King by the North Wind, how for love of a human she made a deal with him to exchange a life with her love for her daughter as his future wife, and how the North Wind swept her away to the ends of the earth when he found her. Now almost eighteen, Cassie no longer believes in fairy tales. She knows the story was just a nice way for her grandmother to...moreAs a little girl, Cassie grew up with the story of the Polar Bear King. Her grandmother told he of how her mother had been promised to the Polar Bear King by the North Wind, how for love of a human she made a deal with him to exchange a life with her love for her daughter as his future wife, and how the North Wind swept her away to the ends of the earth when he found her. Now almost eighteen, Cassie no longer believes in fairy tales. She knows the story was just a nice way for her grandmother to express her mother’s death. That is, until Cassie comes face to face with her own fairy tale, when she finds out the truth. Outside the Arctic research station where she lives with her father, Cassie meets none other than the Polar Bear King himself and learns that her mother is indeed alive after all. In order to free the mother she never knew, Cassie makes a bargain of her own. The ensuing adventure is one that will test the limits of Cassie’s endurance, change the way she sees the world, and alter her irrevocably.

Ice is a beautiful tale combining science, fantasy, and romance into something I can only call brilliant. Durst has proved an imaginative writer in her first two novels, Into the Wild and Out of the Wild, and I am thrilled to say that Durst has outdone herself in Ice. From the first few pages, the reader is drawn into a wild and fascinating fairy tale and Cassie’s unusual life in the Arctic. The backdrop of this story, virtually a frozen wasteland, helps make this story so interesting. I’m willing to bet most readers have encountered few novels in similar settings, and this unfamiliarity makes the placement of incredible fantasy elements so easy to believe. The combination of this with Cassie’s stubborn and determined nature sets the tale up perfectly. The result is a truly magical journey. There is nothing in this novel that I can complain about. Durst’s amazing creativity and skill at structuring this tale make Ice one of the most unique and original fairy tales out there.

Durst’s fantastic storytelling in Ice will be appreciated by fans of her first two novels as well as by those who enjoyed Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock and Beastly by Alex Flinn.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com (less)

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Feb 12, 2010

Arya rated it

Recommends it for: Anyone who enjoyed East or Sun, Moon, Ice and Snow (it is better than BOTH of them!)

Shelves: fantasy, very-intersting-ideas, retellings

In present times one girl's disbelief in fairy tales will be sorely tested when she is forced to make the choice of a life time:

Leave her home, and everything she has ever known to marry a person she knows nothing about. . .or let her mother rot in the prison she has been trapped in for eighteen years.

Magic abounds, love is found, in this illustrious fantasy. . .

Cassandra does not believe in fairy tales. She is a scientist, for heaven's sake! But when a be...moreIn present times one girl's disbelief in fairy tales will be sorely tested when she is forced to make the choice of a life time:

Leave her home, and everything she has ever known to marry a person she knows nothing about. . .or let her mother rot in the prison she has been trapped in for eighteen years.

Magic abounds, love is found, in this illustrious fantasy. . .

Cassandra does not believe in fairy tales. She is a scientist, for heaven's sake! But when a beautiful Polar bear comes up and talks to her, claiming that she was promised to be his bride, she is forced to confront the reality - fairy tales are real, her father lied to her, and her mother (whom she thought dead) really is alive in the palace East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Making a deal with fate, she leaves the research station where she grew up with nothing but a promise to cling to - freedom for her mother, if she will marry the Bear.

It is an unwelcome surprise to her when, on her wedding night, a man comes into her room claiming to be the Bear she married. She kicks him out (as any self-respecting scientist would do, I mean obviously the creep is lying!) and is angery and upset the next morning when the Bear assures her that yes, he really was the man in her room the night before. . .

For Cassie, the unbelieving scientist, this is a rude awakening to the world of magic. It is so fun to go on this intense ride with Cassie!

I loved the way the classic fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon was really changed up. Prince? Not one in sight! GPS - why not? The present setting worked really well! I loved Cassie. She was a strong female lead! I really enjoyed the part with the axe - you go girl! I totally understood why she did not want to have children ~~even though she got one anyway~~. . .

All in all a wonderful story with a strong, independant female lead. An intersting twist involving souls and trolls is just the right zing to send this story to the top. An intersting plot conbined with lots of action and romance (the good kind!) makes this a must read for any self-proclaimed fairy-tale-a-holic I thought it was amazing. . .

(less)

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Jan 13, 2010

Rebekah rated it

Shelves: favorites, young-adult

This is the third book I've read within the past few years that retells the story of "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," and it is by far my favorite. I did not want to put this book down and if I hadn't had responsibilities I wouldn't have.

What I enjoyed so much about this book was how everything worked so well together. In the original fairytale there is so much that doesn't make sense to me and Durst created a world where they did make sense. It was just awesome.
...more

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Dec 29, 2009

Supernatural Fairy Tales rated it

Shelves: fairy-tale-inspired

As the fairy tale glides into the modern era, one finds it spun to show different facets of familiar stories. This is true in Sarah Beth Durst’s Ice, which limns the ideas of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” across the narrative of Cassie, the daughter of a lead researcher in the arctic, as she tries to restore various families, including, perhaps, the animal families within the ecosystems of the planet. Cassie’s dedication to polar bears is a brilliant fire beneath the story and Ms. Durst’s ...moreAs the fairy tale glides into the modern era, one finds it spun to show different facets of familiar stories. This is true in Sarah Beth Durst’s Ice, which limns the ideas of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” across the narrative of Cassie, the daughter of a lead researcher in the arctic, as she tries to restore various families, including, perhaps, the animal families within the ecosystems of the planet. Cassie’s dedication to polar bears is a brilliant fire beneath the story and Ms. Durst’s depiction of the rigors and hazards of research was a fascinating component of the story.

While some plot twists seem telegraphed from the beginning, others will take your breath away with their unexpected threats and beauty. Ms. Durst’s underwater scenes and her ice scenes are both beautiful and interesting (especially to this reader, who spends her entire time in a climate where ice comes from the freezer, not the sky). The idea of an ecological balance that extends further than the physical and into the metaphysical creates a framework delicate enough to support Cassie’s changing priorities without making them feel heavy-handed. One aspect that I didn’t expect was the way that Ms. Durst didn’t have Cassie earn her way through her eventual quest to save her husband through the typical favor system of older fairy tales. Instead, Cassie’s own will to keep going and her knowledge of the world through which she moved provided her with the strength and ingenuity to move forward.

The ideas of love and sacrifice between generations were moving, which helped to balance out the minefield of the idea of a forced marriage. This part of the story did keep me a little on edge, with the idea that the princely husband would have to act always out of a devotional love that kept the character at a slight remove and made Cassie’s eventual warming up to him something that happened more behind the scenes that otherwise. In keeping with the author’s nimbleness in this situation, the transposition of villains and allies kept me on my toes. I’m glad to have had the chance to read this version of one of my favorite fairy tales.(less)

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Dec 28, 2009

Maramouse rated it

I started off with high hopes for Ice, especially since Tamora Pierce's recommendation of it was the cover, and from her blog, I know she is a huge fan of the author. However, although it had many strong fantasy elements, Ice didn't quite live up to my expectations.

The beginning of the book introduces us to Cassie, the daughter of an Arctic research scientist. Cassie has had a very unconventional childhood living at her father's research station and was home schooled and was not expo...moreI started off with high hopes for Ice, especially since Tamora Pierce's recommendation of it was the cover, and from her blog, I know she is a huge fan of the author. However, although it had many strong fantasy elements, Ice didn't quite live up to my expectations.

The beginning of the book introduces us to Cassie, the daughter of an Arctic research scientist. Cassie has had a very unconventional childhood living at her father's research station and was home schooled and was not exposed to children her own age. In addition, her grandmother has attributed her mother's death to the story of East of the Sun, West of the Moon-according to her grandmother, Cassie's mother is not dead, but the prisoner of trolls. Although Cassie starts of believing the story when she is younger, by the time she is eighteen, the scientific Cassie considers it far fetched. But when the very bear whom Cassie's mother refused to marry and promised her daughter to instead shows up and offers Cassie the chance to bring her mother back if Cassie will become his bride, Cassie agrees.

I really enjoyed the book's fantasy elements, which were so original that I would love to learn more about the world Ice is set in. It undoubtedly, in that way, had some of the best fantasy elements in any modern fairytale adaptation I have ever read. I also enjoyed Cassie's relationship with the Bear, as they really did seem to connect, and I was able to understand her motivations by her strong love for him. However, Cassie as a character did not quite ring true. I liked what the author was trying to do with her, but I would have enjoyed a slightly better understanding of her and more insight into her thoughts. I also felt that Durst should have highlighted more of her relationship (and thoughts about) with having an absent mother who appears again after all this time. Gail's story was one of the most interesting in the books, but I was never able to understand how she met Cassie's father and was confused about a reference about Gail's father, the North Wind, "adopting her". So, Gail was born to human parents, and he kidnapped her? In some ways, Gail's story would have been a very interesting novel all by itself.

My main objection was how Cassie ends up sacrificing the very life she has known for Bear. Now, I understand that she was in love, but she is still only eighteen. One of the problems I have with YA fantasy literature is, much as is the case with Twilight, heroines are forced to sacrifice their lives and dreams for the men they fall in love with and the families they build with them. If this were not a modern adaptation, it would be different, as eighteen-year-olds in other times were considered an ideal age for marriage. But in modern times, I'm not sure I agree with the message it sends to young girls. I prefer Tamora Pierce's novels where her heroines are able to find true love, but still continue achieving their dreams. I found myself frustrated with Cassie for this. I also felt more resolution about this part of the story would be necessary, and though I would not jump for a sequel (I would much prefer a prequel about Gail and her relationship with Cassie's father), it would explain many lose ends.

Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to people who enjoy modern fairytale adaptations and strong fantasy elements. If you do not want to analyze this on a literary level, it makes for a fast, enjoyable read that truly sends you away to another place. (less)

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Dec 10, 2009

Josie rated it

Shelves: fairytales

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

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Dec 08, 2009

Angie rated it

Recommends it for: Fans of fairy tale retellings, especially East of the Sun, West of the Moon

Shelves: retellings

As soon as I heard about Sarah Beth Durst's retelling of the East of the Sun, West of the Moon fairy tale, I felt that old familiar tug. I've read Edith Pattou's East and Jessica Day George's Sun and Moon Ice and Snow and enjoyed parts of both of them very much, though neither captured my imagination the way I really wanted them to. You see, as it is basically a Norse version of Beauty and the Beast, I've always felt I ought to love this fairy tale more than I do. But I've been vaguely but persi...moreAs soon as I heard about Sarah Beth Durst's retelling of the East of the Sun, West of the Moon fairy tale, I felt that old familiar tug. I've read Edith Pattou's East and Jessica Day George's Sun and Moon Ice and Snow and enjoyed parts of both of them very much, though neither captured my imagination the way I really wanted them to. You see, as it is basically a Norse version of Beauty and the Beast, I've always felt I ought to love this fairy tale more than I do. But I've been vaguely but persistently dissatisfied with every retelling I've read. I'm beginning to think this is a problem with the source material, a mismatch between us if you will, and not necessarily with the retellings themselves. As I've talked about before, it's a problematic storyline in many ways and particularly difficult to pull off in novel form, I think. Yet somehow I eagerly anticipate each new attempt, hoping this one will be the one.

Cassie loves ice. She was raised on it and has very little inkling of or interest in the world outside the Arctic research station that has been her home for the past eighteen years. As a little girl raised by her dedicated researcher father, she lived for those nights when her grandmother would tell her the story of her mother. Even though she knew it was only a fairy tale, Cassie never tired of the story of the rebellious daughter of the North Wind who defied her father and escaped an arranged marriage to the Polar Bear King to run away with her father, only to be blown away to the land of the trolls for her transgressions. To a little girl desperate for her mother, this story serves as a precious dream about what life would have been like if it had all gone well. But when she turns eighteen, Cassie's life changes. An ancient and enormous polar bear shows up and talks to her. He tells her her time is up and he is there to collect on his end of the bargain her mother made with the North Wind. He will have Cassie for his bride and carry her off to his ice palace. Being the smart cookie that she is, Cassie makes her own deal. If the bear rescues her mother from the trolls in that land east of the sun and west of the moon, she will marry him. The bear achieves the impossible and off they go.

The first half of this book is extremely strong and utterly enjoyable. I loved that Cassie had such a forceful personality, and I loved even more that Bear was allowed to be a vibrant character. In my past experience with this tale, so much of my problem with it seemed to stem from a lack of development of the bear's character and, therefore, a distinct lack of depth to the relationship between the girl and her intended. This was not a problem at all in the first half of ICE. Cassie is rugged and determined and smart with it. Bear is equally intent on achieving his goal and on his responsibilities as a munaqsri, or guardian of souls. This aspect of the world building was especially strong. I loved how unique it felt and the way Durst drew on Inuit legends and folklore felt very organic and fresh. As a result of these strengths, combined with the fact that she actually gave her leads time to get to know each other, I was immediately drawn to their developing relationship. It is sweet and slow and readable and just an all-around treat. One moment when Bear is in his human form standing behind Cassie as the two of them gaze out at the beauty of sunset over the frozen tundra actually had me catching my breath it was so lovely. At about the halfway mark, the bear is captured and it's up to Cassie to rescue him. This is normally the point where things get awesome in a story and I am 100 percent behind the heroine going in, guns a-blazin', and getting the job done. Unfortunately, everything slowed down just when it should have sped up. Bear is out of the equation and, unfortunately and rather surprisingly, Cassie doesn't hold the whole thing up on her own. She's traveling, traveling, traveling in the ice and snow and some things happen but never to their full potential. By the time she finally reaches the trolls I've lost interest in whether she'll win or not. The momentum and narrative thread are scattered in ten different directions and the final page in which things wrap up can't make up for the loss. Once again I'm filled with a sense of so much potential somehow unfulfilled. I truly loved the first half, but it drifted slowly downhill from there. And yet. I remain hopeful. Maybe the next one will be the one.(less)

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Nov 09, 2009

Aimee rated it

Before I dive headfirst into the book review, I would like to say a big thank you to Sarah Beth Durst, who sent a copy of Ice to me herself, when she heard about my interest in the novel. Thanks again, Sarah Beth!

Ice is a fairytale set in the real world Arctic snow. Cassie, an eighteen year old having grown up in an Arctic station with her scientist father, has long wanted to join him in the study of the movement of the majestic polar bear across the icy territory. When Cassie, howev...moreBefore I dive headfirst into the book review, I would like to say a big thank you to Sarah Beth Durst, who sent a copy of Ice to me herself, when she heard about my interest in the novel. Thanks again, Sarah Beth!

Ice is a fairytale set in the real world Arctic snow. Cassie, an eighteen year old having grown up in an Arctic station with her scientist father, has long wanted to join him in the study of the movement of the majestic polar bear across the icy territory. When Cassie, however, meets the Polar Bear King, everything she knows about her world is shattered, as the fairytale she was told as a young girl to explain her mother's death becomes a reality. So that she can see her mother again, Cassie pledges herself as a wife to the powerful beast, much to her disgust and hatred of the position the white bear king has put her in. But his world is unlike anything she has ever experienced, and what she learns as a prisoner in his castle will change her forever.

How to best explain Ice? It's like a well-crafted and sturdily-built snowman. Each piece of the story is something recognisable in itself, but when put with other pieces transforms into something entirely different. On a snowman, a smoothed snowball becomes a head, twigs resemble arms, a carrot is transformed into a perfectly sinister nose. When you break Ice apart, piece by piece, you find its body derives from the classic fairytale East of the Sun, West of the Moon; its true love message is entirely reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast; and the cold beauty of the described environment can be recognised only in a European Winter fairytale like The Snow Queen.
When all these elements are cast back together, however, Ice becomes an original, beautiful tale of a young woman's sacrifice and the risks she takes for love.

Durst has been an entirely clever seamstress in writing this novel. Known modern science and the mysteries of a timeless magic are patterned beside one another as if they have always existed as a pair. In order for a reader to suspend disbelief, the author is usually required to shift the characters into an alternate universe for the magic to occur. But by choosing the widely unexperienced but very real arctic territory as the story's environment, Durst maintains the mysterious beauty of an ice-covered fantasy world as well as injecting science into the storyline to ground the tale in reality.

The book is also fiercely romantic, strangely real and not without moral purpose, read in the context of a frightening modern world facing the extinction of polar bears. The environmental element of this novel leaves its pawprint embedded in every chapter, but never seeks to overshadow the novel's first and foremost purpose, as a traditional-style fairytale.

This is a wonderful book for an impressionable girl to read- the writing is clear, not fanciful, and Cassie is an incredibly strong and passionate heroine. She bases her tough decisions on love and isn't afraid to voice her opinion even where it puts her in danger. Her resourcefulness, sense of adventure and fierce independence sets her apart from the everyday YA protagonist swooning over the first bite of love. Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, I am reminded of another strong-minded and resourceful protagonist when reading - Lyra Belacqua from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. The scene in book 1, Northern Lights where Lyra is on the back of the princely polar bear, the wind pulling at her hair and the northern lights ribboning through the sky - that intense freedom can be felt again upon reading Ice.

I was hoping to enjoy this fairytale, but I was emotionally moved by it as well. Polar bears are part of an icy royal court that may not be long for this world - it is incredibly sad to think that in all likelihood, the white bears will become a fairytale themselves before long. Prepare for the characters to gently slough about in your thoughts after you've turned the last page.

Being a frosty romance, I would recommend saving this book for a lonely rainy day where you can swamp yourself in cozy blankets and snuggle in with a cup of creamy and entirely satisfying hot chocolate.

And don't forget the marshmallows.

Rating: 4 frosty stars.(less)

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Oct 07, 2009

Katie rated it

Shelves: own

Cassie’s always heard her grandmother tell the story of her mother and the Polar Bear King — how her mother made a deal with him and it backfired, leaving her swept away by the winds. And she’s always believed that it was a fairy tale, meant to warm the nights in Alaska. Until one day, Cassie sees a polar bear magically disappear before her eyes and the veil between her world and the fairy tale world melts away.

I have a confession to make. I actually liked this book more than the “Into...more

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Sep 08, 2009

Claire rated it

Shelves: a-7th-and-8th-grade-middle-school-t, adults-reading-ya-lit

Durst has a track record with fairy tales, she wrote Into the Wild, which was clever. The image of the Wild stashed under the bed and constantly trying to escape tendril by tendril is permanently placed in my brain.
Ice expands and modernizes the story so many of us heard as children- A girl marries a magical animal only to find he is human at night, when she looks upon his face he must leave his young wife and surrender himself to an evil queen to settle a bargain that the young bride kno...more

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