Ice - Sarah Beth Durst

Ice - Sarah Beth Durst

Pages: 308
Publisher: Simon and Shuster
Release Date: 29th October 2009

Other Titles by this Author: Into the Wild, Out of the Wild

When Cassie was little, her grandmother told her stories about the Arctic…about frost and snow, and a beautiful castle made of ice, and about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King. But Cassie is older now and has no time for fairytales and talking animals, or lies about her dead mother.

But when Cassie comes face to face with a mysterious polar bear, one that defies all scientific fact or knowledge, she begins to realise that the fairytales could actually be true. Discovering that her mother may still be alive, Cassie makes her own deal with the Polar Bear King, embarking on a dangerous journey to save her. But the deal comes with consequences she never bargained for, and before her journey’s end, Cassie will discover the true meaning of family, and of loss and love.

Ice is a unique, enchanting and beautifully written tale of science, magic and love colliding to form an utterly magical story that will stay with me for a very long time.

Although I wasn’t sure about Ice at first, it completely captured my imagination. It was a beautiful mix of science and magic; two of my favourite things. All of the goings on in the research station and the polar bear tracking were a stark contrast to Bear’s castle and the munaqsri. And it worked brilliantly. But, seriously, Bear’s castle…You’ve got to read it for yourself.

The cast of characters in Ice are fantastically written. Cassie is such a strong heroine and I was rooting for her all the way. She’s incredibly stubborn and refused to give up on anything. But what I love most about her is that she will go to the ends of the earth to protect the ones she loves, with no regard for her own well-being. And Bear is pretty special, too. He’s kind, patient and really loves Cassie. But he’s also a very unusual hero…

The second half of the novel is adrenalin-fuelled and action-packed. Nothing that happened in that part of the book was anything that I’d anticipated. The race against time and Cassie’s anxiety kept the story moving along and I found it hard to stop reading. When I eventually did, I kept thinking about it, wanting to be reading it. In fact, I wish I was still reading it!

I absolutely loved Ice, It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before. And although not everyone will love this as much as I did, but give it a go, you won’t be disappointed.

Sophie