East

East by Edith Pattou is a retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun West of the Moon.  In the tale a girl named Rose is a member of a large family which is very poor.  She has always wandered and has on several occasions seen and felt a connection to a large white bear.  When a bear comes into her home and promises to heal her sister and help her family out of poverty if she comes to live with him she agrees to go with him.  

I have read several retellings of this tale, all different and all enjoyable.  What I love the most about this tale is the power that is given to the heroine.  It is up to her to save the prince and she is willing to face a dangerous journey and must use her smarts to save him.

East was very well written and a fantastic book.  It was far more literary than other versions I have read and very long.  The book is told from the viewpoints of many characters allowing the reader to have an understanding as to how each character thinks, I even at time found myself sympathizing with the villain once or twice. 

Appropriateness:  There is nothing in this book that parents would find objectionable.  I would recommend this book for the older end of the young adult audience or for younger readers that enjoy books with a lot of substance.  The lexile of the book is 900 putting it at a sixth grade reading level and it rings in at a very long 516 pages. 

Other versions of this tale that I have enjoyed include Sun and Moon Ice and Snow and Ice.  There is also an old Jim Henson movie called The Polar Bear King which is available on Netflix.