Summary (from back of book): When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make believe.
Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back—if Cassie will agree to be his bride.
That is the beginning of Cassie’s own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian Boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she hold dear will be taken from her—under she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.
Review: The book is as cheesy as the summary makes it sound, and slightly worse. I picked up the book because I am a fan of urban like fantasy stories, ones that integrate fantasy into everyday life (also, I’m a sucker for anything with wild animals in it). I have such mixed feelings over this book. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. The main characters, Bear and Cassie mainly, annoyed the heck out of me. Bear was far too perfect for even a character in a book, and Cassie was so stubborn it made her stupid. The pregnancy wasn’t realistic and the idea that a soul determines whether a baby is stillborn or not bugged me. Mostly because I am in a child development class right now and I know the ins and out of pregnancy and birth at this point.
As for the plot? It seemed very rushed. One minute she hated Bear the next she loved him, and was risking her life to save him. It flowed very easily, I mean you were not stuck in one place very long so Durst doesn’t give you very much time to get bored with the book. I skimmed a lot of the book so the description and dialogue were not enough to keep my eyes glued to every word. I read and it just didn’t get me interested from the start, so I simply skimmed to get the book done.
All that being said it reminded me very much of a common folklore story that natives tell to explain a certain phenomena—not necessarily a bad thing. Overall it wasn’t horrific, but it wasn’t really all that great either. It kept me entertained and I didn’t want to gouge my eyes out.
Rating: 3/5
Reviews from the Pros:
“This beautifully drawn tale captured me in a realm of wonders!” –Tamora Pierce
“I loved this deeply romantic story!”—Juliet Marillier
"ICE is a beautiful and shivery tale of sacrifice and love. Highly recommended, and just in time for the winter season." -- Becca Fitzpatrick
"Durst flawlessly weaves together romance, adventure, and a modern sensibility to create a highly inventive and suspenseful story of a girl on the cusp of adulthood. Readers will take Cassie and Bear to their hearts." -- School Library Journal
"Durst skillfully integrates a contemporary girl into an updated version of the tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, balancing the magical with the modern... [Cassie's] quest for self-worth, independence, maturity and love, is twisty, absorbing and satisfying." – Publisher’s Weekly
"Told in a descriptive style that perfectly captures the changing settings, Durst's novel is a page-turner that readers who enjoy adventure mixed with fairy-tale romance will find hard to put down." -- Booklist
On a side note, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Hope Santa brings you all you wished for! I am hoping for some great new reads!
~She Who Reads A Lot
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