Daughter Of The Wind

by Michael Cadnum

Historical adventure story that takes place in medieval Scandinavia.

Hallgerd is the 17 year-old daughter of the Norwegian village leader. A group of Danes, acting under the orders of a powerful, warring-king's daughter, kidnap her and intend to marry her to this noblewoman's son. After a sympathetic young Dane helps her to escape, Hallegerd avenges her kidnapping by setting fire to the town and steals a small rowboat. As she is rowing through the marsh, she meets Gauk, a young hunter, along with a young blacksmith from Hallegerd's village who has come to rescue her.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Teen, Fiction, Adventure

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Michael Cadnum has had a number of jobs over the course of his life, including pick-and-shoveler for the York Archaeological Trust, in York, England, and substitute teacher in Oakland, California, but his true calling is writing. He is the author of thirty-five books, including the National Book Award finalist The Book of the Lion. His Calling Home and Breaking the Fall were both nominated for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award. He is a former Creative Writing Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts. Also a poet, he has received several awards, including Poetry Northwest's Helen Bullis Prize and the Owl Creek Book Award. Michael lives in Albany, California, with his wife Sherina.

Reviews

[Cassie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucked. I was reading it for a long time while I was trying to keep myself from reading at school so I could be social and I couldn't read it at home because of homework, and I finally got to the end and couldn't understand why I bothered to finish it in the first place. It was well written, but the plot had no substance. All characters were static.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good, but not great. It seemed to end really fast. I think it could have been better if there was more action toward the end and if Hallgerd, Gauk, and Hego could have had more adventures before finding their people. The names made some of it hard to get into.

[Linnae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting historical details, but ultimately unsatisfying.

[Shawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good idea and I liked the historical details, but the story lacked depth.

[Sammantha Juneau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for people who love folklore and the viking era. It has a little bit of both romance, battle and mystery. I enjoyed the characters that the author displayed, but this book could've been better. At times the words used could be confusing, because they use the language of the people. It wasn't too over done but sometimes it can get confused. Overall, the book was engaging but can be a bore at times.

[Lori Clark-Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lexile: 1020
Historical Event/Time Period: 1780 19s
Liked: I liked about the book that there is a Happy Ending and the story ends.
Disliked: I didn 19t like the description of all the battles, because they are described in way too much bloody detail.
Summary: The book 1CDaughter of the wind 1D, written by Michael Cadnum, deals with the issues of the late 1700 19s in England. When Hallgerd, the village 19s jar 19s daughter, is kidnapped by Danish Vikings, two young risk their lives to rescue her. The book provides a lot of information about the battles between the Vikings and the village and really goes into detail. Hallgerd is able to free herself from her kidnappers. The book shows how the 3 main characters are trying to figure out who they are and what they can do if they really believe in themselves.

[Malloryk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I think the book deserved about two stars. It took me a while to get into the story because I was confused on all of the strange names and ideas. Also, many of the words I struggled to even imagine how they would be pronounced, which made the flow of the book much less smooth. I gave it two stars instead of one because it wasn’t consistently lacking description and a understandable word choice. At some points I could visualize the whole scene very well. Overall, the book was okay, just not amazing.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first it was a little difficult to get into because the nordic names and ideas came at me so fast and I wasn't that interested in the bear hunting berserker. But the adventurous tales didn't weigh down the story. It could've used a better romantic tale. But overall it was a really fun story. It would be best for 12 and up. It ended rather abruptly. I wonder if there is a sequel.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great adventure in Viking times. The hero and heroine of the story were engaging and interesting. It had enough detail about locations and daily life that I could imagine my ancestors rowing a boat, or hunting a bear like in the story.

[Trisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

BORING!

[Alyssha]

so far the book is kind of weird to me , so i hope it starts getting better or im just going to dump it and read something else.