When We Were Vikings – Book Review

Author: Andrew David MacDonald

Genre: Literary Fiction

Publisher: Scout Press

Published: January 28, 2020

Book Description: A heart-swelling debut for fans of The Silver Linings Playbook and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Sometimes life isn’t as simple as heroes and villains.

For Zelda, a twenty-one-year-old Viking enthusiast who lives with her older brother, Gert, life is best lived with some basic rules:

1. A smile means “thank you for doing something small that I liked.”
2. Fist bumps and dabs = respect.
3. Strange people are not appreciated in her home.
4. Tomatoes must go in the middle of the sandwich and not get the bread wet.
5. Sometimes the most important things don’t fit on lists.

But when Zelda finds out that Gert has resorted to some questionable—and dangerous—methods to make enough money to keep them afloat, Zelda decides to launch her own quest. Her mission: to be legendary. It isn’t long before Zelda finds herself in a battle that tests the reach of her heroism, her love for her brother, and the depth of her Viking strength.

When We Were Vikings is an uplifting debut about an unlikely heroine whose journey will leave you wanting to embark on a quest of your own, because after all…

We are all legends of our own making.

Rating: 5 Stars

Review: Another great start to 2020, as this was such a good story. I am already predicting this will be in my top 10 favorite books of 2020. As in the description if you enjoyed “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”, this will be right up your alley.

This is the story of Zelda, and she is a Viking, and lives by they Viking code. She was also born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. She lives with her older brother Gert, who adores her, but you come to find out he is making questionable decisions all in the name of his sister. Zelda uses her code to save her brother from himself.

You will absolutely fall in love with Zelda. She is strong, and really shows all the possibilities of what a person with special needs can do. I laughed, and felt sad, but in the end I was rooting for Zelda the entire time. The author really took care to tell this beautiful story. This was a huge 5 stars for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Scout Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.