Celine Kiernan

Story : The story is told from many perspectives: Rose, Neddy, Father, White Bear and the Troll Queen (don’t let the name stop you from reading)
 
Roses’ mother is very superstitious, believing in many strange things, such as that the direction in which you are born tells what your personality is. So when Rose, the last in a large family is born a North child, Euginia is terrified that a fortune teller's prophecy of an icy death will come true. She vows to keep Rose close. But Rose is true to her Northern birth, a wanderer, and when the mysterious white bear of her childhood appears with an offer she can’t refuse, she willingly accepts to go to his mysterious castle, where a fantasy tale of entrapment, greed and lands "far-far away" unravels.

Opinion : I wouldn’t suggest reading the blurb on the back of the book. For some reason it seems to dumb the story down. I think that this an incredible book, a fairytale, with no sugar-coating, but still, it’s not too dark. You can feel every character’s emotion - love, desperation, joy. Edith Pattou really makes you feel like you’re there, in the story. I was sucked in from the beginning. There is no way that you cannot enjoy every twist and turn in this book, feel empathy, anger and love for the characters. You will want to read it again and again, unless you are a complete fantasy-a-phobe. I think it is to become the next Beauty and the Beast, except far more intelligent and gripping. I completely enjoyed it, not wanting it to end.