nerfherder86 's review for:

Weave a Circle Round: A Novel by Kari Maaren

4.0

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What a fun fantasy/sf book! Starts off rather confusing, until you get to the time travel part. Then it gets a little more confusing, until everything finally makes sense. Main character Freddy, fourteen, doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere in her life; she tries to get by at school by being invisible. She doesn't have any friends, she's short, looks young for her age, and is still upset over her parents' divorce years ago and her mom's remarriage and new absentee parenting style (the kids are left alone to their own devices a lot; parents show up at dinnertime with pizza). She has a smart younger sister who loves mysteries and a grumpy stepbrother who happens to be deaf, both of whom love to play D&D together and generally annoy Freddy. Then the new neighbors arrive--with a crash! They wreck their moving van and enlist Freddy, Roland and Mel's help to move in. These neighbors, a young man Freddy's age and his aunt/friend/detective lady who talks funny? are very eccentric, to say the least, and constantly surprise Freddy with their weird behavior. And then...suddenly Freddy is in Viking-era Scandinavia. And we're off! A rollicking good time, with homages to literature and history and a coming-of-age/be true to yourself/family is important theme.