This is a winter novel for those of us who name Hans Christian Anderson’s stories among our favorite fairy tales. Ronja’s voice is perfect – poignant and descriptive but still true to a ten-year-old. I felt for her and for Melissa, her older sister, dealing with a parent whose good intentions were never going to see the family through to the happy Christmas Ronja envisioned. The moment I finished the book, I immediately flipped back to the first page to reassess the beginning in light of how it ends… and nearly got sucked back into re-reading the entire novel.
Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishøi, (List Price: $20, Grove Press, 9780802163493, November 2024)
Reviewed by Ginger Kautz, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina