The Strange Maid: Book 2 of United States of Asgard - Hardcover

Gratton, Tessa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 030797751X ISBN 13: 9780307977519

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2014

Synopsis

Fans of Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, and Maggie Stiefvater will embrace the richly drawn, Norse-influenced alternate world of the United States of Asgard, where cell phones, rock bands, and evangelical preachers coexist with dragon slaying, rune casting, and sword training in schools. Where the president runs the country alongside a council of Valkyries, gods walk the red carpet with Hollywood starlets, and the U.S. military has a special battalion dedicated to eradicating Rocky Mountain trolls.

Signy Valborn was seven years old when she climbed the New World Tree and met Odin Alfather, who declared that if she could solve a single riddle, he would make her one of his Valkyrie. For ten years Signy has trained in the arts of war, politics, and leadership, never dreaming that a Greater Mountain Troll might hold the answer to the riddle, but that’s exactly what Ned the Spiritless promises her. A mysterious troll hunter who talks in riddles and ancient poetry, Ned is a hard man to trust. Unfortunately, Signy is running out of time. Accompanied by an outcast berserker named Soren Bearstar, she and Ned take off across the ice sheets of Canadia to hunt the mother of trolls and claim Signy’s destiny.

About this title

About the Author:

TESSA GRATTON has wanted to be a paleontologist or a wizard since she was seven. She was too impatient to hunt dinosaurs, but is still searching for someone to teach her magic. After traveling the world with her military family, she acquired a BA (and the important parts of an MA) in gender studies, and then settled down in Kansas with her partner, her cats, and her mutant dog.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 8 Up—In this prequel to The Lost Sun (Random, 2013), Gratton brings readers back to a world that comingles Norse mythology, vengeful gods, and technology in a landscape that resembles the United States. Teens are introduced to a new character, Signy Valborn. She was in training to be the Valkyrie of the Tree but left her apprenticeship in shame because she is unable to solve the riddle. She sets off on a journey to find herself and meets Ned the Spiritless, who is a poet and a warrior. Through Ned's stories, she learns her destiny is to fight the troll mother, and the two head north to spend the winter training. Fans of the previous book are brought full circle, when Baldur, the god of the sun, does not rise from the dead, which was the focus of the first installment. Ned is taken by the troll mother, and Signy continues her journey alone until she meets Soren Bearskin, also a character from the previous entry, who is instrumental in finding Baldur and returning him to Odin, the lead deity. Eventually, the heroine is aided by Ned and Soren in her quest to reap the stone heart and become a true Valkyrie. It is not necessary to read the first book before diving into this one, but it would help in the understanding of the violent fantasy world that the author has meticulously created. This infinitely exciting tale's twist and turns highlight the characters' missions as they decide which identity to choose: hero, martyr, or villain. Readers looking for a sophisticated fantasy that shows a raw, rowdy, and rough side of life will be utterly satisfied. For fans of Robin LaFevers's "His Fair Assassins" series (Houghton Harcourt) and Sarah J. Maas's "Throne of Glass" books (Bloomsbury).—Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Jefferson, LA

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 030797751X
• ISBN 13: 9780307977519
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416