Ice (Durst book)
Encyclopedia
Ice is a novel written by Sarah Beth Durst, a modernized retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon
. It was a nominee for the Andre Norton Award
in 2009.
king to be the daughter of the North Wind, who expected the girl to become the bear's wife when she grows up. But one day, the North Wind's daughter meets Cassie's father and falls in love with him. When the polar bear king comes to get the woman, she refuses him but comes up with a bargain for him: if she has a daughter, the daughter will be his wife. He agrees and allows his would-be wife to marry the man she loves. The North Wind, furious at his adopted daughter, seeks her out, and when he finds her, she had given birth to a daughter (Cassie). Cassie's mother begs for her father to take her and leave her husband and child alone, and the North Wind blew her far away, where she was captured by troll
s.
Years later, Cassie is eighteen, and she has accepted the story as a nice way of saying her mother had died. She lives at the Eastern Beaufort Research Center in Alaska
with her father and fellow researchers Owen, Scott, Liam, Jeremy, and pilot Max. While out on the ice, Cassie spots a large polar bear, but when she plans on tranquilizing and tagging him, he vanishes into the ice. Upon telling her father Laszlo of this, he decides that she must go to live with her grandmother in Fairbanks
. It turns out the story about her mother was true after all.
Determined to find the bear and prove the story isn't real, Cassie plans to go out after him, only to find that the bear had found her. He tells her to marry him in exchange for the release of her mother, who is alive. Cassie reluctantly agrees.
The polar bear (who is referred to as "Bear") takes Cassie to his elaborate ice castle, where the latter learns that he is a "munaqsri," a transporter of souls. He is currently the only munaqsri for the polar bears, and tells Cassie that there must be more of their kind for everything to be in balance. That night, while Cassie is in bed, she is confronted by what she thinks is an intruder who tells her that he is Bear and adds that it is their wedding night. She chases him out, and upon finding out from Bear that the intruder was truly him, she finds out that they are to have children together. Though she initially plans on leaving, Cassie decides to stay, knowing that her father lied to her about her mother dying.
Weeks later, the polar bear birth season arrives, and Cassie is left alone in the castle as Bear sets out with souls for the cubs. After a while Cassie grows bored and Bear allows her to visit her home again.
Upon returning home, Cassie finally meets her mother Gail (short for Abigail), who is traumatized after all those years with the trolls. After spending only a few days there, Cassie returns to Bear with information on bear den sites she received from Owen. Also, she takes with her more gear than before, including birth control
pills, which she uses on their wedding night. Despite this, Cassie winds up pregnant, realizing that Bear "magicked" her into becoming this (he referred to her use of the pills as a "chemical imbalance.")
Feeling betrayed, Cassie waits until evening before turning on her flashlight
and seeing his face. She discovers him in his human form, as a man with dark skin and white hair. Bear wakes up and sees what she is doing. He ends up having to be sent to marry the princess of the troll
s; it was part of the bargain to release Cassie's mother (Cassie must also not see his face whatsoever). He leaves Cassie alone.
Cassie is determined to go out after him, despite her pregnancy.
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
East of the Sun and West of the Moon is a Norwegian folk tale.East of the Sun and West of the Moon was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe...
. It was a nominee for the Andre Norton Award
Andre Norton Award
The Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, named to honor prolific science fiction and fantasy author Andre Norton , is a yearly juried award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to the author of an outstanding young adult science fiction or...
in 2009.
Plot
When Cassie Dasent was a little girl, her grandmother would tell her of what became to her mother: she was taken by a polar bearPolar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
king to be the daughter of the North Wind, who expected the girl to become the bear's wife when she grows up. But one day, the North Wind's daughter meets Cassie's father and falls in love with him. When the polar bear king comes to get the woman, she refuses him but comes up with a bargain for him: if she has a daughter, the daughter will be his wife. He agrees and allows his would-be wife to marry the man she loves. The North Wind, furious at his adopted daughter, seeks her out, and when he finds her, she had given birth to a daughter (Cassie). Cassie's mother begs for her father to take her and leave her husband and child alone, and the North Wind blew her far away, where she was captured by troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
s.
Years later, Cassie is eighteen, and she has accepted the story as a nice way of saying her mother had died. She lives at the Eastern Beaufort Research Center in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
with her father and fellow researchers Owen, Scott, Liam, Jeremy, and pilot Max. While out on the ice, Cassie spots a large polar bear, but when she plans on tranquilizing and tagging him, he vanishes into the ice. Upon telling her father Laszlo of this, he decides that she must go to live with her grandmother in Fairbanks
Fairbanks
Fairbanks may refer to:Places in the United States*Fairbanks, Alaska, city*Fairbanks, California, unincorporated community in El Dorado County*Fairbanks, Mendocino County, California, former settlement*Fairbanks, Indiana, unincorporated community...
. It turns out the story about her mother was true after all.
Determined to find the bear and prove the story isn't real, Cassie plans to go out after him, only to find that the bear had found her. He tells her to marry him in exchange for the release of her mother, who is alive. Cassie reluctantly agrees.
The polar bear (who is referred to as "Bear") takes Cassie to his elaborate ice castle, where the latter learns that he is a "munaqsri," a transporter of souls. He is currently the only munaqsri for the polar bears, and tells Cassie that there must be more of their kind for everything to be in balance. That night, while Cassie is in bed, she is confronted by what she thinks is an intruder who tells her that he is Bear and adds that it is their wedding night. She chases him out, and upon finding out from Bear that the intruder was truly him, she finds out that they are to have children together. Though she initially plans on leaving, Cassie decides to stay, knowing that her father lied to her about her mother dying.
Weeks later, the polar bear birth season arrives, and Cassie is left alone in the castle as Bear sets out with souls for the cubs. After a while Cassie grows bored and Bear allows her to visit her home again.
Upon returning home, Cassie finally meets her mother Gail (short for Abigail), who is traumatized after all those years with the trolls. After spending only a few days there, Cassie returns to Bear with information on bear den sites she received from Owen. Also, she takes with her more gear than before, including birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
pills, which she uses on their wedding night. Despite this, Cassie winds up pregnant, realizing that Bear "magicked" her into becoming this (he referred to her use of the pills as a "chemical imbalance.")
Feeling betrayed, Cassie waits until evening before turning on her flashlight
Flashlight
A flashlight is a hand-held electric-powered light source. Usually the light source is a small incandescent lightbulb or light-emitting diode...
and seeing his face. She discovers him in his human form, as a man with dark skin and white hair. Bear wakes up and sees what she is doing. He ends up having to be sent to marry the princess of the troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
s; it was part of the bargain to release Cassie's mother (Cassie must also not see his face whatsoever). He leaves Cassie alone.
Cassie is determined to go out after him, despite her pregnancy.
Characters
- Cassandra Elizabeth "Cassie" Dasent: The protagionist of the novel. Cassie had grown up at an Arctic research station, knowing that a story told to her by her grandmother about her mother was just a pretty way of saying the latter had died.
- Bear: Another protagionist. Years before Cassie's birth, the North Wind promised that if he kidnapped a daughter for him, the daughter would become his bride. But in time, the North Wind's daughter Gail refuses him on account of the fact that she is in love with a man, Laszlo. Gail makes her own bargain: if she has a daughter, she will be his bride. Gail has Cassie, and she and him "marry."
- Gail: Cassie's mother, adopted daughter of the North Wind. After Cassie was born, the North Wind blew her away to where the trolls lived, and she was kept there for eighteen years. The only thing she shares in common with Cassie is their greenGreenGreen is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
eyes. Other than that, she doesn't look like her daughter one little bit.
- Laszlo Dasent: Cassie's father. Laszlo had known about the past of his wife Gail, but he cannot go after her when she is sent away to live with trolls by the North Wind because he had Cassie. His mother's name is Ingrid.
- Ingrid Dasent: Mother of Laszlo, mother in-law of Gail, and grandmother of Cassie. She had told her granddaughter about what really happened to her mother.
- Father Forest: Initially viewed as a good guy, Cassie later sees him as an antagionist, determined to make her stay in his home until she gives birth. She eventually escapes him.
- Jamison "Jamie" Ieuk: An Inuit man and a munaqsri for humans. Cassie meets him when she falls and harms herself. Only by convincing him that there are over 25,000 souls that don't have a body, Jamie spares her from dying.