Daughter of the Wind

Grade 8 Up-An exciting tale of three young people striving to discover who they are and what the future holds for them, set in the rough, brutal world of the Vikings. Hallgerd dreams of marrying Lismod, the protagonist in Cadnum's Raven of the Waves (Orchard, 2001). This beautiful young woman, whose father is the jarl of their Norwegian village, is captured in a raid by Danes intent on bringing her back to their village as a bride prize for the grandson of their leader. Gauk feels the spirit of a bear enter him after he slays the beast who has killed his friend. As he skins the animal and throws its mighty pelt over his shoulders, he realizes that Odin has accepted him as a berserker, a warrior feared by everyone. Finally there is Hego, whose ways are slow and deliberate. When he sees Hallgerd captured, he follows the Danes as they carry her off and attempts unsuccessfully to rescue her. The stories of these three characters come together in the book's dramatic climax. Though Hallgerd's escape from the Danes happens coincidentally at exactly the moment that Gauk and Hego arrive to rescue her, the story is still gripping, and full of graphic scenes of violence, which may be unpleasant reading for some. Yet it is Cadnum's glimpses of everyday life and the stirring sagas that bring the inner world of these Northern people to life. A welcome addition to the growing list of historical fiction about the early Vikings.
Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
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Gr. 7-10. In a gripping opening scene, young Norseman Gauk slays a bear that has just killed his best friend. Back in his village, a group of Danes abducts the leader's daughter, Hallgerd, removing her to become the bride of their own leader's son. These two stories and that of the loyal but slow-thinking Hego intertwine until Gauk and Hego meet Hallgerd as she flees her fate. A companion volume to Raven of the Waves (2001), this teems with Norse culture and edge-of-the-seat adventure. It was a violent time and Cadnum portrays it realistically, inserting ample background information. The ending leaves a few questions that may be answered in a third volume. Packed with as much combat as any action movie, this swashbuckling novel can also supplement social studies units on Vikings and medieval life. Linda Perkins
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