Snow Walker by Catherine Fisher

         Now, this isn't normally the type of book that I have been reading recently but in an effort to save money I have been going back and rereading my old books. I do like Fantasy books though so this fits right in with that.

             Since Gudrun came from the frozen mists beyond the edge of the world,  the Jarl's people have obeyed her in hatred and terror. But the enchantress has one weakness: a son, Kari, banished to a forbidding fortress in the north, never seen by the Jarl's people. In secret they wonder: Are the rumors true? Was he born a monster? Now Jessa and her cousin Thorkil have been exiled to the north, and if they survive the journey, they will find the truth: Is Kari a beast? Or the means to stop the sorceress?

Click to view on Amazon: Snow-walker (The Snow-Walker Trilogy)

           Now, this book is filled with strange names and places and I know that it is YA, which I usually don't read. But this book really grabbed me.

           Gudrun is this creepy witch who seizes peoples minds and controls them. She has taken control of the kingdom and as her husband dies she will have total control. She only has one weakness: her reflection. It is the reason there are no mirrors in the hold. Now, Jessa and Thorkil end up as traitors and she exiles them blah blah blah. You already know all that from the synopsis so here is important stuff that you don't learn from those handful of sentences. Kari is basically awesome! He is shy but super powerful and has these ravens that follow him everywhere. It's pretty basic in the way that he has to save the day and face off against his mom. but this book has three books in it. One where he confronts his mom, another where a monster attacks and he has to save the day and the last where he travels to the land where his mom is from and tries to save the day.

           Now, the things that bothered me: Jessa. The story basically follows where she is, which is fine. But she doesn't have much personality in the first book, she just kinda went along with everyone, but then all of a sudden in the second book everyone is saying how sassy and smart she is and it's like What The Hell??? She has never been either of those things. that just pissed me off a bit.

           I also hate it when people doubt Kari. I mean come on he ha saved you guys and you think he is trying to kill you? I mean come on.

           Now, let me just say again, I love Kari... I love how he is so serious and quiet but also so curious about the world. His mom kept him locked in a dungeon for all of his childhood so he just loves new things. I don't know. I'm not explaining this very well. I'll just leave you with this:
This is a great YA book that has a great male protagonist. It has magic and suspense. It's great... or at least I think it is.