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A review by shelbynuck
When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This should have been my first book of the year! I struggled between a 4 and 5, but I ultimately chose a 5 because it is unlike anything I’ve read previously. From the POV of a 21 year old woman who is on the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum. She has a fixation on Vikings and their culture and relates it back to her everyday life. In her Tribe is her Brother who saved her from an abusive family member after their mother died. However, to do that he had to start selling drugs which brought some unsavory characters into their lives. I would highly recommend this book. Heartfelt.
“There are people around the poker table of life whose hands aren’t perfect and they see what they have and fold right away. They don’t even bother playing. I feel like I’ve been that kind of person…. I’m tired of folding, know that my sisters the kind of person who would play her hand, no matter how bad the cards were.”
“For her, the world is a place where courage, and being a part of a tribe means more than anything else - where we are all Vikings paddling together, to the beat of the same drum.”
“There are people around the poker table of life whose hands aren’t perfect and they see what they have and fold right away. They don’t even bother playing. I feel like I’ve been that kind of person…. I’m tired of folding, know that my sisters the kind of person who would play her hand, no matter how bad the cards were.”
“For her, the world is a place where courage, and being a part of a tribe means more than anything else - where we are all Vikings paddling together, to the beat of the same drum.”