“My name means fairy tale, which is fitting for the daughter of a storyteller who was once the North Wind. I was born in the winter in the midst of a howling snowstorm, sheltered from snow by a reindeer-skin tent and the fierce warmth of my parents’ love. My mother laughed and my father cried, and they were, in that moment, wholly happy. They called me Satu. Story.”
Wind Daughter
Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer was an absolutely lovely retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, a story that just happens to be one of my favorite fairy tales of all time. When I had heard Wind Daughter, a companion novel to Echo North, was being released, I was so thrilled to read it. And just like the kind of reader that I am, it sat on my shelf a good while before I got to it because of my ever shifting mood.
Needless to say, I didn’t think it was possible to love Wind Daughter more than Echo North, but I did. It was so beautiful, poetic and just gorgeous. It’s hands down one of my favorite books, I adored every bit of it.
Satu is the daughter of the once North Wind. Her father gave up his power for a mortal life with her mother and is known as a great storyteller. He has collected stories from all over the world, and it was Echo’s story that he collected. As Satu grows up, she realizes she is very different from other people. She doesn’t like to be inside or around other people she doesn’t know. Going to school becomes out of the question, and when she gets older, she grows more and more secluded from the village. She is a girl on a mountain, who lives raising the bees that her Uncles, the other winds, have sent her. She is content and doesn’t wish for any change.
But that all changes when she spies a winter demon. It is actually a young man who used to serve the Wolf Queen. Satu is wary of him but also finds herself drawn to him. And it is his appearance in her life that unravels it. Quite literally. When her father gave up his power, it began to run wild, and now with no one to claim it, the magic begins to unravel the world. First it unravels her parents. Suddenly alone, the winter demon tells Satu she is the only one who can stop the unraveling- by collecting the threads of her father’s power and claiming it for herself.
For someone who has spent most of her life avoiding the rest of the world, Satu suddenly finds herself thrust into it, on a journey that will test her bravery and courage at every step of the way.
This book was so gorgeous, emotional and magical. Satu’s struggles with her differences, parts of her that make her wonderful and amazing, was so heart wrenching at times, but watching her grow as a character and overcome her fears was amazing. This story was so perfect. I picked it up right when I needed to read it, and it brought me to such a magical place. This is the third book I’ve read by Joanna Ruth Meyer. Her books are all stunning, and I really can’t recommend reading her books enough. I am looking forward to whatever book she is working on next!
Of Worlds Forgotten 
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