Sometimes life isn’t as simple as heroes and villains.
For Zelda, a twenty-one-year-old Viking enthusiast who lives with her older brother, Gert, life is best lived with some basic rules:
1. A smile means “thank you for doing something small that I liked.”
2. Fist bumps and dabs = respect.
3. Strange people are not appreciated in her home.
4. Tomatoes must go in the middle of the sandwich and not get the bread wet.
5. Sometimes the most important things don’t fit on lists.
But when Zelda finds out that Gert has resorted to some questionable—and dangerous—methods to make enough money to keep them afloat, Zelda decides to launch her own quest. Her mission: to be legendary. It isn’t long before Zelda finds herself in a battle that tests the reach of her heroism, her love for her brother, and the depth of her Viking strength.
When We Were Vikings is an uplifting debut about an unlikely heroine whose journey will leave you wanting to embark on a quest of your own, because after all...
We are all legends of our own making.
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I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
I enjoyed When We Were Vikings and the message the author was trying to convey, but I don't think it was a good fit for me personally. I tend to avoid books about abuse or rape, because they're ugly truths about the world we live in. When I read, I want it to be fantastical or romantic -- something lighthearted and fun. I want to watch people fall in love, fight bad guys, or learn something new about themselves. I appreciate that there are books like this out in the world, and sometimes they're what I pick up to read (I believe we should read books that make us uncomfortable every once in awhile), but they're not my first choice. I know there are dark corners in most people's lives, but when it's in your face as you're reading, it's really depressing. It makes you focus on the fact that this happens, and it happens a lot. It's hard for me to pull myself out of that headspace, so I try to avoid going there at all.
Zelda is a Viking in her own right, and I really loved her as a main character. Her brother, Gert, doesn't always make the best decisions, but he has Zelda's best interests at heart. He's there for her, present in her life when he doesn't have to be, and he provides for her knowing that she would struggle to do it on her own. We soon learn that Zelda is actually more than capable of taking care of herself, but she does struggle with some of the nuances of the world.
I disliked that there was no resolution with a certain someone, because I felt like there should have been some severe consequences for their actions. It's left unresolved, which annoys me, but I can see why the author chose to leave that thread loose. It was realistic and lent the story more authenticity. I still wish someone had kicked their ass and made them regret every choice they'd ever made.
Annie/AK47 was one of my favorite people. She loves Zelda and cared about Gert, but she also knows when to leave an unhealthy relationship. She takes care of herself, and loves from a distance when a person isn't good for her. I thought her sister-like behavior with Zelda was bittersweet, since they loved each other, but both wished for something that would likely never happen. In some ways, AK47 was a better influence than Gert, and understood that Zelda was an adult and should be treated like one despite the opinions of others.
When We Were Vikings will repeatedly break your heart, and make you wish for impossible things. Zelda gets caught up in something she doesn't fully understand, and it has dire consequences for herself and the people she loves the most. Her quest to find herself, her passion for Vikings, and her desire to protect those closest to her -- they are just a few of the things that make Zelda a character worth rooting for. (★★★⋆☆)
