Reviews

The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley

candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition

5.0

After a spate of middling reads, I am delighted with the start of this novel. Christina Sunley's astute observance of children reminds me of Anne-Marie MacDonald. Good writing, interesting setting (an Icelandic settlement in Canada) . . . sigh, I'm happy.

Now that I have finished "The Tricking of Freya," I highly recommend it. The promising opening played out into an involving read that kept me up late and made me want this novel to be a hit so that Sunley will write more. The publisher has an ambitious marketing plan in place, and this is definitely the sort of book that booksellers will love to hand sell.

I've been thinking about this book all day.

lisap57's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional relaxing medium-paced

3.0

krobart's review against another edition

3.0

This book is written in the form of letters to her cousin, for Freya sets off on a journey to Iceland after she overhears something that makes her think her Aunt Birdie had a child before she died. Her intention is to find her cousin. An involving story, the book is full of details about Icelandic culture, history, and language, which add to its interest. Its slowly unfolding mystery keeps your attention.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-tricking-of-freya/

bupdaddy's review against another edition

5.0

OK, so five stars for a compelling story about a Connecticut girl/woman recapturing her Canadian, then Icelandic roots, with lots of cool mythology and Icelandic travelogue thrown in. Really wonderful writing.

So why do I need to say what I'm about to? I don't know. I'm not the most astute reader ever, and never got props from English teachers for my ability to read between the lines. Heck, I didn't even solve most Encyclopedia Brown cases - I had to read the answers in the back of the book. So I need to say that I saw the big 'twist' - the giant 'reveal' that comes at the end of the book...in the first chapter. Literally, the first chapter.

I had to get past that. I think the author really expects you to be shocked, moved, blown away, when the reveal comes, and I just wasn't. And you won't either, if I wasn't.

So try to look at the book in a different way. It's not about the big twist. It's about the journey of the protagonist who is shocked, moved and blown away though you won't be.

dulcey's review against another edition

June 10

rainysakura's review against another edition

4.5

I participated in a book swap event on Facebook, and this is one of the books I received. It sat on my shelf for months, my excuses ranging from "I'm too busy" to "I need to finish Harry Potter first" and even "I prefer reading on my Kindle". Eventually I sat down to read the first chapter. Good thing I didn't have anything going on that day because I had read about half of it before I finally put it down. This story is a combination of so many things I love to see in a book: the innocence of childhood, excellent character development, SENSATIONAL writing (like, seriously, sensational) and even a little language learning. I have studied language and linguistics for years, and reading this book made me want to study Icelandic. In my opinion, this isn't a book that will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what the "family secret" is (I predicted to my husband by the end of chapter four how the book would end). What you will get out of it, as I did, is an adoration for Freya the child and for her sweet imagination and innocence. You'll have a love-hate relationship with her aunt, and you'll have an urge to google recipes for pönnukökur. If you're anything like me, you'll stop reading the book only to watch a documentary on Iceland. You'll see a little of yourself in Freya and maybe even in her relatives. You'll try to pronounce the name Ingibjorg aloud and laugh at how utterly ridiculous you sound. You'll look up flights to Reykjavik (and find one for $550 round trip from NYC!), then proceed to resist the urge to buy said ticket.

tl;dr: this book made me feel a lot of things, and I'm so glad I read it. I recommend it wholeheartedly to you, fair review reader.

moirastone's review against another edition

2.0

Felt to me like a stereotypical first book, as if the writer had years of rumination, ambition, and incident to cram onto the page. That's not necessarily a criticism, but in this case I didn't click with the voice, and found myself wishing for a leaner story less dependent on a mystery that wasn't, in the end, all that mysterious.

mrk_eastbay's review against another edition

4.0

This was just one of those books you grab off the new shelf at BPL. First novel, local author. It's a quick read, with a somewhat obvious set of plot twists, but the backdrops of volcanic Iceland and Manitoba create their own drama. Worth an afternoon in a hammock.

glitterbomb47's review against another edition

3.0

It's due back at the library, and I'm not that engaged in it.

leavingsealevel's review against another edition

3.0

omg so good again. creepy, iceland, norse things, awesome. maybe deserving of five stars. i read a LOT on vacation.