see http://www.sfsite.com/11a/sq92.htm ( )

Kernaghan has taken Andersen's fairy tale, added a good deal of Saami traditional wisdom, a smattering of much-needed humor, a refreshingly plucky heroine and stirred it all up in a pot to delicious effect. She's a fine writer and I'm most grateful to her for a wonderful and somewhat subversive twist at the end. I always loathed Andersen's somewhat sappy ending and was most satisfied by Kernaghan's inventive flip. Although probably intended for children (who will certainly enjoy it), there's much for myth-loving adults here as well. ( )

This is more a reworking than retelling, beginning in 19th c. Denmark with Gerda and Kai about 16 years old. Kai is hired by the mysterious Baroness Aurore to be her secretary, and when he stops writing, Gerda persuades a schoolfriend to pretend to send for her, so that she can travel to Copenhagen and find out what's wrong. Only she has to travel much further than she expects.
Ritva is the robber's daughter, and her mother is a Saami shaman. When Gerda falls into her hands, she rescues her on a whim, then uses Gerda's quest as a reason to escape her own confined life. The girls need all their own wit, courage, and Ritva's magic, to defeat the Woman of the North.
I read this quickly and with much enjoyment. It's only 158 pages. Braiding in the Finnish folklore adds a lot to the story, and I don't think there's ever been a reader of Andersen's story who didn't want to see more of the Little Robber Girl. Kernaghan does well by her, I think, not softening or smoothing, but letting her be wild.

Everything Kernaghan writes is beautiful. This is a reinterpretation and elaboration of the Hans Christian Andersen tale. Well imagined and well told. ( )

This is a really interesting version of the Snow Queen. It often when directions that I wasn't expecting, which I love. The writing is great. I had never read Eileen Kernaghan before so was happy the authors voice was so clear and interesting. It feels like a old time fairy tale or fable. It is a very short novel, which was a little disappointing. ( )