Woodcutter Jarl and his wife have nine children; when the last one is born and turns out to be a fifth daughter, her mother refuses to give her a name, believing that sons are more useful. Her family refers to her as "pika" (girl), although her favorite brother, Hans Peter, who traveled the world on a ship calls her "lass." The country where they live has been immersed in a nearly-unending winter, which makes life difficult. So when a giant enchanted polar bear (isbjorn) shows up one night and asks the pika to live with him for year, she agrees to go if he'll ensure that her family finds fortune while she's gone. The isbjorn takes her to a castle made of ice that has all the comforts she could want, except that it starts to feel like a prison. The more questions she asks, the more servants start disappearing and she begins to fear what could happen; but that doesn't stop her from trying to find answers--and risk ruining everything...
This is a fairly good retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, though there aren't really many surprises. I was a little disappointed that some of the plot points introduced at the start of the story that seemed important never really amounted to anything. However, I did enjoy it and I was interested to see what would happen. I would definitely recommend this to fantasy fans who like to read fairy tale retellings or who want something set in the "real world" that's a little out of the ordinary.
- If this book sounds interesting, consider these: The Seer and the Sword, Fablehaven, Howl's Moving Castle, or Auralie: A Fairy Tale
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