Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

Starred Review In the Scandinavian fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," a young girl is taken from her home to a magnificent castle by a great bear, whom she discovers is really a prince. Young Astri is not so lucky en she is taken away from her aunt's home, it's by a hunchbacked goat herder, and she doesn't sleep in a magnificent castle, but in a cold, filthy cottage in the mountains. Still, she can't forget the stories and fairy tales that her mother told her before she died tories that inform how she understands her plight. Perhaps the goat herder is a prince in disguise, and maybe he is hiding troll treasure. Clever, deeply feeling Astri knows what's real and what's not, but those stories have power, and they buoy her to do whatever it takes to escape the cruel goat herder; reunite with her sister, Greta; and depart for America, where they will finally be with their father again. Like dun silk shot through with gold, Preus (Heart of a Samurai, 2010) interweaves the mesmerizing tale of Astri's treacherous and harrowing mid-nineteenth-century immigration to America with bewitching tales of magic. A fascinating author's note only adds to the wonder.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Thirteen-year-old Astri is a goat girl, but she's no Heidi; she's a sharp, stone-hard girl who hasn't yet found the goodness inside herself. In fact, her life is as wretched as the darkest Norwegian fairy tale. Instead of being taken by White Bear King Valemon to his castle, Astri has been sold by her own aunt and uncle for "two silver coins and a haunch of goat" to a nasty old hunchbacked goatman named Svaalberd who lives in squalor. Folk tales from "The Twelve Wild Ducks" to "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" weave through Astri's often dryly humorous, suspenseful first-person account until one feels like the other…including her riotous escape from the violent man-troll and the rescue of her beloved little sister. The girls' odyssey over hill and dale, aided by a kind milkmaid and lonely widow, takes them all the way to an America-bound ship—the Columbus. Whether or not their father is still alive in America, the country beckons like the castle in the bear story that "lies east of the sun and west of the moon." Preus, who won a Newbery Honor for Heart of a Samurai (2010), was inspired by her Norwegian great-great-grandmother, who immigrated to America in 1851, as she explains in an author's note, even providing reproductions of some of her great-great-grandmother's papers. Norwegian history, fiction and folklore intertwine seamlessly in this lively, fantastical adventure and moving coming-of-age story. (glossary, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 11-14)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 5-8 Astri is 13 when she is sold by her aunt and uncle to a goat farmer named Svaalberd to serve as an unpaid laborer. Defiant but practical, she spends months with the brutal and superstitious Svaalberd, cooking, cleaning, and caring for the goats, before she escapes the farm with her fellow captive, the mysterious Spinning Girl. Astri fetches her younger sister, Greta, from her aunt and uncle's house, and hightails it with Svaalberd's "treasure" to the coast in order to sail to America. At its most basic, this is a tale about a girl escaping a poverty-stricken life in mid-19th century Norway. But from the beginning, the mystical and wondrous elements of Norwegian folktales are woven into the narrative, lending a timeless quality to a story inspired by the author's family history. The harsh realities of that time period, from rickets to tetanus, take on a strange, magical, and often terrifying aspect, as seen through Astri's naive eyes. She compares her servitude to Svaalberd with the story of White Bear King Valemon, who steals a young girl away, but really, Svaalberd is more like a troll to Astri. Folktales inspire the protagonist and allow her to imagine her own situation as a sort of legend—but in real life, actions have consequences. The decisions Astri makes to survive come to haunt her, and with her regret comes a new maturity, strength, and an ability to face her future in America. Enthralling and unflinching, this historical tale resonates with mythical undertones that will linger with readers after the final page is turned.— Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

Horn Book

Preus takes readers to mid-nineteenth-century Norway in a tale strongly infused with myth. Fourteen-year-old Astri is determined to go to America. First she must escape the brutish goat herder to whom her greedy aunt and uncle have sold her. Norwegian folktales are seamlessly integrated into the lyrically narrated story, which features a protagonist as fearless as any fairy-tale hero.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Thirteen-year-old Astri is a goat girl, but she's no Heidi; she's a sharp, stone-hard girl who hasn't yet found the goodness inside herself. In fact, her life is as wretched as the darkest Norwegian fairy tale. Instead of being taken by White Bear King Valemon to his castle, Astri has been sold by her own aunt and uncle for "two silver coins and a haunch of goat" to a nasty old hunchbacked goatman named Svaalberd who lives in squalor. Folk tales from "The Twelve Wild Ducks" to "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" weave through Astri's often dryly humorous, suspenseful first-person account until one feels like the other…including her riotous escape from the violent man-troll and the rescue of her beloved little sister. The girls' odyssey over hill and dale, aided by a kind milkmaid and lonely widow, takes them all the way to an America-bound ship—the Columbus. Whether or not their father is still alive in America, the country beckons like the castle in the bear story that "lies east of the sun and west of the moon." Preus, who won a Newbery Honor for Heart of a Samurai (2010), was inspired by her Norwegian great-great-grandmother, who immigrated to America in 1851, as she explains in an author's note, even providing reproductions of some of her great-great-grandmother's papers. Norwegian history, fiction and folklore intertwine seamlessly in this lively, fantastical adventure and moving coming-of-age story. (glossary, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 11-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Inspired by a few lines from her immigrant great-great grandmother's diary, Newbery Honor author Preus (Heart of a Samurai) spins the sometimes harrowing tale of Astri, a 13-year-old Norwegian girl sold into hard labor by her greedy aunt. With a dead mother, a father in America, an imperiled younger sister, and the foreboding goat-keeper who has bought her, Astri is like a girl out of a fairy tale, and the native folktales that Preus weaves through the narrative serve as guides, lessons, and inspiration for her. Determined to escape her cruel master, rescue her sister, and join her father in America, she learns firsthand the sacrifices-financial, physical, and emotional-that immigrants face. Astri is fierce and brave enough to bargain with Death, and not always innocent; likewise, the villain is also an agent of salvation. In the reality these folktales frame, there are no easy or absolute categories. A threat of sexual violence and a grisly death might be hard on sensitive readers, but this immigrant's tale would ring false without them. Ages 10-14. Agent: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Agency. (Apr.)

Voice of Youth Advocates

Astri's life changes when her aunt sells her to a goat farmer. With him, life is not pleasant. Constant chores fill her days, but more importantly, she misses her sister, Greta. After a night during which her safety is threatened, Astri finally escapes. She does not want her sister to suffer a similar fate, so she returns to her aunt's house to rescue her. After their reunion, the girls look for a way to escape their lives and go to America.Astri wants a normal life and dares to take fate into her own hands. Astri is a strong female character willing to risk everything to make her and her sister's lives better. The book takes places in Norway and does a marvelous job of showcasing the countryside. An author's note explains that this book was inspired by great-great-grandmother's diary. The story of Astri is fictional but based on fact, with pictures from the diary and explanation of terminology. With a lyrical tone, Preus weaves folktales into the story. This novel is a quick read full of dangers and the darkness of fairy tales.Jennifer Rummel.