Indie Next Pick for February 2020
Book of the Month January 2020
LibraryReads January 2020 Pick
Bookreporter New Release Spotlight
New York Post “Best Books of the Week”
Goodreads “January’s Most Anticipated New Books”
The Saturday Evening Post “10 Books for the New Year”
PopSugar “Best Books in January”
Book Riot Best Winter New Releases
“Zelda is a marvel, a living, breathing three-dimensional character with a voice so distinctive she leaps off the page.” —The New York Times
“Heartwarming and unforgettable.” —People
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.
“A most welcome and wonderful debut” (Tyrell Johnson, author of The Wolves of Winter), 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.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Book of the Month January 2020
LibraryReads January 2020 Pick
Bookreporter New Release Spotlight
New York Post “Best Books of the Week”
Goodreads “January’s Most Anticipated New Books”
The Saturday Evening Post “10 Books for the New Year”
PopSugar “Best Books in January”
Book Riot Best Winter New Releases
“Zelda is a marvel, a living, breathing three-dimensional character with a voice so distinctive she leaps off the page.” —The New York Times
“Heartwarming and unforgettable.” —People
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.
“A most welcome and wonderful debut” (Tyrell Johnson, author of The Wolves of Winter), 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.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A sweet, funny, dark, roller coaster ride of a book, about two unforgettable siblings trying to help each other grow up. Zelda is an entirely original character, a young woman with a cognitive disability, trying hard to navigate life on her own terms. But it’s her loving thug of a brother, Gert, that stole my heart. A wonderful book that’s less a novel than a movement, proving we can all be heroes of our own stories." - Lisa Gabriele
"It is rare that a book comes along with a character like Zelda, whose singular vision of the world transforms your own. Noble, chivalrous, wise, and true, Zelda undertakes a heroic quest that will leave you breathless and profoundly changed. When We Were Vikings is a triumph. It made my heart sing, full-throttle, like a Viking in an opera." - Jessica Grant
"In When We Were Vikings, MacDonald has written one of the most unique heroines I’ve ever read. You can’t help but root for, care about, and thoroughly enjoy Zelda and her quest to be legendary. A most-welcome and wonderful debut." - Tyrell Johnson
"Told with skillful empathy, When We Were Vikings explores a violent world as experienced by Zelda, a girl with a mental disability finding her power. Andrew David MacDonald is a writer to watch, an insightful new voice who invents in ways that feel deeply personal." - Sabina Murray
"It is rare that a book comes along with a character like Zelda, whose singular vision of the world transforms your own. Noble, chivalrous, wise, and true, Zelda undertakes a heroic quest that will leave you breathless and profoundly changed. When We Were Vikings is a triumph. It made my heart sing, full-throttle, like a Viking in an opera." - Jessica Grant
"In When We Were Vikings, MacDonald has written one of the most unique heroines I’ve ever read. You can’t help but root for, care about, and thoroughly enjoy Zelda and her quest to be legendary. A most-welcome and wonderful debut." - Tyrell Johnson
"Told with skillful empathy, When We Were Vikings explores a violent world as experienced by Zelda, a girl with a mental disability finding her power. Andrew David MacDonald is a writer to watch, an insightful new voice who invents in ways that feel deeply personal." - Sabina Murray
Used availability for Andrew David MacDonald's When We Were Vikings