Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

The lass doesn't have a name because her mother considered her an unwelcome addition to an already-starving family. Winter has been blowing on and on for years, the cold never seems to break, and there are always hungry bellies rumbling. When an ice bear shows up and offers to give her family

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riches in exchange for the lass accompanying him to an ice palace for a year and a day, the lass accepts. Unfortunately, her attempts to unravel the evil spell backfire and the lass must figure out how to set things right.

The ending is a bit abrupt and I'm not sure I was wholly on board with her wolf sidekick and the host of magical creatures that served her at the palace. But I'm a bit biased because I loved Edith Pattou's adaptation of the same story. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow is perhaps aimed at a bit younger audience.

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A fun adaptation of the fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon." I would have liked a longer epilogue, though.

The lass's mother is so upset to see that she's borne another daughter that she refuses to name her. Nonetheless, the lass creates an identity for herself, with the help of her grieving brother. When a white bear asks for her to stay in a palace with him for a year and a day, she agrees to

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accompany him if he will make her family rich. This retelling of the tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" brings it to life, although it was not precisely innovative in storyline. Still, a good read, if not genius.

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I have to say, it took me a few chapters to really get into this story. It very much has the feel of an old fairy tale. Our protagonist, un-named by her mother at birth, is called Lass by her affectionate older brother Hans Peter. They live together, with the rest of their large family, in the

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frozen north. On the day the great bear, an isbjorn, comes to take Lass away, the family's fate is sealed. Lass must spend a year and a day in the Ice Palace - full of fantastical creatures and a mystery night time visitor.
There are many layers to this tale and Lass is a wonderfully strong young girl. I really liked this book. A few points did bother me though. The ending was rushed - I loved the time Lass spent in the Palace of Ice and would have liked the telling of her time in the palace east of the sun and west of the moon to have been more detailed. Also, I felt that the troll queen and princess weren't quite as horrible as we were led to believe.
All in all, a great YA fantasy - 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Based on the fairytale East of the Sun, West of the Moon, this novel is a beautiful re-crafting of a fantastic tale. Lass was not named by her mother, but is granted a name by a white reindeer who also gives her the ability to talk to animals. Life is good and she is happy but then one day a white

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bear appears at her house and asks her to come live with him for a year. Lass agrees after the bear promises to help her family out of poverty.

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It's Beauty and the Beast meets East of the Sun, West of the Moon. The main character is the fourth daughter, loved by her father, but unloved by her mother, and therefore, never given a name. An ibjorn, or giant polar bear, arrives one day to offer her family any wish, if they will only give up

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"the lass" to live with him in a faraway ice palace for a year.

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Outstanding retelling of East of the Sun West of the Moon

A Scandanavian fairy tale (a version of Beauty and the Beast) brought to life. The protagonist is the youngest girl in the family whose parents don't name her. The setting is a rural Scandanavia of times past when the superstitions of troll and magical animals are realities. The protagaonist learns

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to speak with animals and finds a name through her kindness; however, her skill leads her to mystical palace with fairy tale servants. There she meets an isboren, a magical bear--but there is much more to him than meets the eye.

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A mix of the tale Beauty and the Beast and one of the norse myths, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow really took my breath away. The main character is a girl whose own mother did not give her a name. She lives in a wintery land where there is rarely enough food to eat. One day an enchanted bear comes and

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bids her to live with him for a year and she accepts, with the agreement that her family will become rich. A must read for those who love fairy tales.

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When you can't put a book down at Pennsic, you know you've got a good one. This book, a retelling of a Norwegian legend, has some Beauty and the Beast parallels (hence the tag). It's a fascinating one where everyone makes sacrifices to make everything right in the end.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow tells the tale of the lass, an unwanted and unnamed fourth daughter who has the opporunity to leave her miserable life behind and when a strange polar bear offers her an enticing deal: if she comes with him as his companion, he will give her family riches. The bear takes

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the lass to a palace made of glass, filled with strange and magical creatures -and secrets.The lass soon finds that the palace isn't what it seems, nor is the strange man who appears in her room every night. As she edges closer to the truth, the perils of her unconventional deal become more apparent.

Based on the Nordic myth "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" and steeped in Nordic culture, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow explores a magical, fairy tale world with mystery and a dash of romance.

However, something about Sun and Moon just didn't intrigue me as much as George's other novels. Perhaps it was the very different subject, the Norse-based world, the constant discussion of ice and snow (okay, I hate cold) or the fact that this novel re-told a less well-known fairy tale -plus there aren't any princesses. Or it could be absolutely none of these things, but something about Sun and Moon wasn't as enchanting or magical as Princess of the Midnight Ball or Princess of Glass.

That said, it's not a bad book. Sun and Moon is an interesting fairy tale retelling that draws on Norse tradition to paint a unique backdrop of a lesser known fairy tale. The characters, unfortunately, are a little hazy in the book, even the lass, who seems to be sleepwalking through most of the novel between plot points purely for the purposes of advancing the plot and without any real motivation for herself. I don't feel like there's much of a romance between the lass and the polar bear, only that the lass wants to do something with her life.

A little disappointing after reading George's other novels, Sun and Moon is a decent read that's worth time, but not great.

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Another good fairy tale retelling by Jessica Day George. And my favorite fairy tale too!

Ages 10 and Up - The heroine of this retelling of the Norwegian fairy-tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon, is known simply as pika, or the lass. The youngest of nine children, she was so unwanted by her mother that she wasn't given a name. In a land cursed with never-ending winter, the lass

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lives with her family, including her father, a kind but poor woodcutter, her brother Hans Peter, who, greatly changed after returning from a sea voyage, carves wood all day, and her pet wolf Rollo. After catching the white reindeer, the lass is gifted with the ability to speak with animals; as her reputation with animals spreads and people seek her out for help, she is, in some ways, able to make it up to her mother for being born a girl. Then one day, during a terrible blizzard, an isbjorn (polar bear) knocks on the family's cottage with a bargain: if the lass will come with him and live with him in his palace for a year and a day, he will bring great fortune to her family. And so the lass goes with him. Once at the palace, she cannot contain her curiosity. Who built the ice palace she lives in? Who are these strange creatures waiting on her? Who is the stranger slipping into her room to sleep beside her at night? What enchantment is her isbjorn under?
The talking animals and fairly strict adherence to the original story make "Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow" more accessible for younger readers than Edith Pattou's 2005 retelling "East," which draws heavily from other Norwegian mythology, is told from multiple viewpoints, and is much longer and, in my opinion, grown-up in theme. Fans of one, however, will mostly likely enjoy the other. Recommended for public library collections - perhaps with cross-holdings in juvenile fiction and young adult fiction - middle school libraries, and some elementary and high school libraries.

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Reminiscient of a fairy tale, the Norwegian setting adds a new twist this genre with a flair many readers will enjoy. Pika, though not named by her mother and not protected from the trolls, gains a name, the ability to understand animals, and an adventure from the white reindeer. Her wish sets

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forth a set of trials that she must endure to save her older brother's anguish and her own life. She is whisked away to a faraway land by a polar bear who appears and asks her to live in a castle for a year and a day. So begins her trials and the fate of her family.

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This is the first book I have read by Jessica Day George. Overall I really enjoyed this book. This was a quick read, written in a classic fairy tale style.

The main character was never named by her mother, but her siblings called her pika. She has numerous brothers and sisters, and they all live on

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the brink of starvation in a small cottage. Two things happen to change pika's life forever. The first happens when she stumbles upon, and rescues, a white deer. The deer offers to grant her one wish, and pika wishes for a name, which the deer whispers to her. Then later a great white bear shows up on pika's doorstep and demands that she come and live with him in a castle made of ice for one year and one day.

This was a very entertaining story. Pika was a great character; she is accepting of things, and very caring, but deep down has a strength and toughness to her. Her older brother is also an interesting an mysterious character. Of course, the giant white bear, is another fascinating character. The book is beautifully written and gracefully moves through the plot. I had a lot of trouble tearing myself away from this book. In fact I read it all over the course of one day. There isn't a ton of action, but the mystery surrounding the palace of ice really pulled me in and kept me guessing.

If you like fairy tales; you will love this one. It is a easy read, the character never ends up in too much trouble. This is a softer fairy tale but creative and fascinating all the same. At times it reminded me a bit of "Beauty and the Beast"; I know it is based on an old folk tale, so that may be why it evokes that image for me.

While I probably won't re-read this story; but it was a wonderful and pleasant read and made me interested in reading more of Jessica Day George's books.

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A retelling of east of the sun, west of the moon, where a girl must travel to the ends of the earth to rescue a prince from a troll's enchantment.

This is the second book I have read by Jessica Day George. I have to say that I am a fan. I love her writing style. Her books are so easy to read and very entertaining. This book is a fairy tale based on Norwegian folk tales. It reminded my of Beauty and the Beast meets Cupid and Psyche meets some

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other fairy tale I have long forgotten. It’s full of trolls, a white reindeer, a magical white bear, and a nameless girl called lass. The story is full of adventure, hardships, love and loss. If you haven’t read any book by Jessica Day George, I recommend them to you. The ones I have read have been fantastic.

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The story in this book is based upon a Norwegian fairy tale called “East of the Sun, West of the Moon”. This was also the reason I decided to read it, since I love fairy tales and have always wondered how it would be if someone rewrote one of them in a more modern way without all the definite

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rules of fairy tales. Oh, how I was disappointed.

We have the standard components of a fairy tale, the lovely heroine, her stupid family (some of them at least), helpers, a polar bear, magic, trolls, snow and lots and lots of gold. The heroine is the youngest daughter of a large family. She has no name, because her mother wanted a son and therefore could not bother naming her, her family therefore just called her Pika (which means girl or “the girl”, but is rarely used and rather ridiculous as a nickname in my opinion) A great, white bear persuades her to live with him in a lovely castle, and in return her family will become rich. It would not be a fairy tale if there was no evil lurking under the surface, and so is the case also in this one. I will not reveal too much of the plot, since fairy tales are best discovered by reading it yourself or being read to instead of having it explained. Where is the magic in that?

I had such high hopes for this book. A foreign author choosing to write a book based on a Norwegian fairy tale and one of my favourites too. But maybe that is why I was so disappointed by it. I knew the tale too well, and everything seemed strange, silly and at times completely ridiculous to me. The author used names not typically for Norwegian fairy tales, she made it sound like everybody was eating “lefse” all the time, which is actually cake. Who has a diet consisting mostly of cake? Not a poor woodcutter’s family, that is for sure. Maybe it is just me; maybe it is more exotic for someone not that familiar with this tale or Norwegian culture. I do not know. I just pray you will read the original fairy tale before you read this book! The best part of the book was the author’s thank you note on page 5: “For my parents: You gave me life, you gave me love, you gave me a plane ticket to Norway. Thank you.”

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Retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon-- but this time both the coveted third son trope and the uniqueness of our heroine are inverted. Compare to Edith Pattou's East. Suitable for younger readers.

Nordic tale retold in interesting way. It teases you to read on and find out what will happen next...
I was thinking about giving it a 4 star rating, but settled for 3 in the end because enchanted prince snores. ;)

Found this one a bit odd due to the fact that nearly the entire book the main character is merely referred to as 'the lass', and her name is only revealed near the very end. All in all, I quite liked this version. The main character was strong, stubborn and fairly believable, and I liked how she

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had a companion that stayed with her the entire story. The character of Rollo was quite lovable too and made a nice addition to the story. The only thing that bugged me was that it was a very similar version to "East" by Edith Pattou. Close enough that at times I was confused if I had already read this book. (Although, if I recall, East had a lot of weaving in it, and this book did not, and had Rollo instead) All in all I did prefer this version to 'East', however. The character seemed a bit deeper, and more likable. Nicely done all in all.

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A quick read with suspense and intrigue. George does a nice job of expanding on the traditional aspects of the tale, and filling out the characters nicely.

good. well written, fun, and still maintains the integrity of the myth. since this is one of my favorite myths I had some trepidation. I was not disappointed. there were some interesting twists, such as rollo and the servants, but they just made the story unique. I quite enjoyed reading this one.

I got this book because of goodreads recommend feature. I like faerytale retellings and the premise of a girl whose mom didn't name her sounded promising. My late gramps used to delight us with stories about a troll who lived underneath his bridge. We believed him for years.[He also had a different

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goat story about the birthday goat. I wonder why he never blamed the troll for getting the birthday goat. I guess after he made our older brother cry after giving him a cornbread birthday cake he didn't have the stomach for it.]The book was too long for a simple girl tricks trolls with cunning story but too rushed for what transpired in the first half of this book.The book was split up into four parts. The first two just didn't fit with the last two. I preferred the first half with her brother and the rest of her family. Nothing ever happens to her family after they get riches from the troll queen.The lass had more chemistry with her brother Hans Peter and her faithful wolf sidekick Rollo than she did with the bear/prince.I kept expecting the warning about not telling her new name to come up but it never did. Rollo was my favourite part of the book. If he'd died I'd have given this book one star.

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