"North Child"- book review by a teen reader

“North Child” by Edith Pattou follows the life of an ordinary girl call Rose, who was born into a family with a superstitious mother, thus being called Ebba Rose after the East point of the compass. The story recounts Rose’s life growing up, with Rose being an adventurous child who only sat still to do weaving and sewing. As time goes on, her family becomes poorer and one of Rose’s sisters falls ill. So when an enormous white bear shows up on their doorstep promising an improvement in the family’s fortune and her sister’s health, Rose agrees to go with the bear, who takes her to a castle buried in the side of a mountain. Life is good for Rose, who except for suffering from home sickness, is well looked after. Like most other fairy tales, this one also contains a curse to overcome, so when Rose makes a mistake, will she be able to break the curse and win her prince? Based on the Norwegian tale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” this tales also loosely relates to the story of “Beauty and the Beast”, and will leave you wanting more.