West

by Edith Pattou Narrated by Full Cast

Overview

In the sequel to the beloved high fantasy*East, Rose sets off on a perilous journey to find her true love when he goes missing in a thrilling tale of danger, magic, adventure, and revenge.

When Rose first met Charles, he was trapped in the form of a white bear. To rescue him, Rose traveled to the land that lay east of the sun and west of the moon to defeat the evil Troll Queen. Now Rose has found her happily-ever-after with Charles - until a sudden storm destroys his ship and he is presumed dead. But Rose doesn't believe the shipwreck was an act of nature, nor does she believe Charles is truly dead. Something much more sinister is at work. With mysterious and unstoppable forces threatening the lives of the people she loves, Rose must once again set off on a perilous journey. And this time, the fate of the entire world is at stake.


Audiobook Cast of Narrators:
Renée Raudman*as Rose
Kirby Heyborne as Neddy
Taylor Meskimen as Estelle
Robertson Dean as White Bear
Kimberly Farr as Mother
Tonya Cornelisse as The Troll Queen

Editorial Reviews

JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile

The audiobook WEST has just as much adventure and enchantment as its predecessor, EAST. It opens three years later as Rose’s blissful marriage to Charles, who was formerly a white bear, is again challenged by the Troll Queen’s magic. Narrator Renee Raudman takes the role of the determined and romantic Rose, who is bent on rescuing Charles. Robertson Dean’s sonorous voice reflects Charles’s tenderness. Their love has expanded to include a baby left in the care of Rose’s mother, portrayed with maternal care and worry by Kimberly Farr. All the narrators provide skillful depictions that add to the plot’s drama, including those who portray minor characters. S.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

Humans and characters from magic fight for love and life against a dreadful enemy. I could hardly breathe as they battle for the fate of the world. There isn’t a dull moment, only the risk to every life on earth!” —Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times best-selling author “In this luminous companion to East, Rose confronts new dangers and old enemies in a high-stakes game in which the fate of the world—and everyone she loves—hangs in the balance. If I’m ever in a life-or-death struggle against impossible odds, I want Rose by my side.” —Cinda Williams Chima, New York Times best-selling author of The Shattered Realms series “What a worthy sequel to the amazing East! Of course Rose’s “happily ever after” would include more adventure. This journey was even more poignant, as she fully understood the stakes and the dangers this time. Once again, readers will be in awe of Rose’s courage and her devotion, and will long for her triumph in the end—even at great cost." —Margaret Peterson Haddix, New York Times best-selling author of the Shadow Children and Missing series "A wait of longer than a decade proves completely worthwhile in the case of Pattou’s continuing spin on Norwegian myth filled with fully realized human characters and adventures both fantastic and emotionally authentic."—School Library Journal, STARRED review "Pattou (Ghosting, 2014, etc.) builds a solid, convincing 16th-century Europe from minutely observed details...Necessary wherever the first is popular; a good addition to any collection where fairy-tale retellings circulate well."—Kirkus "This is an exciting, layered adventure that draws from various cultural mythologies. An epic drama featuring high romance and a resourceful heroine that will appeal to fans of Pattou and new readers alike."—Booklist   —

School Library Journal

★ 08/01/2018
Gr 7 Up—At the close of East, Rose and her new husband, formerly enchanted as a white bear, are reunited. Now, they are torn apart again by the Troll Queen, with the added complications of the couple's new baby and a young foster daughter, Estelle. Readers follow the saga through multiple narrators as Rose, the white bear, Rose's brother Neddy, their mother, and Estelle become scattered by the magic of the wind and the evil of the Troll Queen. The protagonists fight back as individuals—with the aid of Neddy's love Sib—and in teams of two or three. Pattou artistically spins the broad and long tale without making the details feel burdensome and always keeps the pace from lagging. The variety of adventures and challenges that the characters face require mental and physical toughness and willingness to try rather than give up in defeat, although very realistic injuries and illness do occur. Details from European history, including the ravaging plague, superstitions, and even crafts, appear without intruding. Readers unfamiliar with the prequel should start there in order to develop a clear understanding of Rose's devotion to her white bear. VERDICT A wait of longer than a decade proves completely worthwhile in the case of Pattou's continuing spin on Norwegian myth filled with fully realized human characters and adventures both fantastic and emotionally authentic.—Francisca Goldsmith, Library Ronin, Worcester, MA

JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile

The audiobook WEST has just as much adventure and enchantment as its predecessor, EAST. It opens three years later as Rose’s blissful marriage to Charles, who was formerly a white bear, is again challenged by the Troll Queen’s magic. Narrator Renee Raudman takes the role of the determined and romantic Rose, who is bent on rescuing Charles. Robertson Dean’s sonorous voice reflects Charles’s tenderness. Their love has expanded to include a baby left in the care of Rose’s mother, portrayed with maternal care and worry by Kimberly Farr. All the narrators provide skillful depictions that add to the plot’s drama, including those who portray minor characters. S.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2018-07-30

Once upon a time (East, 2003), a girl rescued an enchanted white bear from a wicked Troll Queen in a palace "east of the sun and west of the moon." But what happened after "happily ever after"?

Rose and Charles (or, as she still calls him, her "White Bear") have been blissfully married for three years and have an adopted daughter and a baby boy. When word comes that Charles has been lost at sea, Rose is not convinced it was an accident, suspecting the Troll Queen has survived to seek vengeance. After leisurely reacquainting readers with the characters and backstory, the pace quickens and the stakes become both grander and more personal, as the Queen schemes to kidnap the "bairn" and eradicate every other "softskin" human. Pattou (Ghosting, 2014, etc.) builds a solid, convincing 16th-century Europe from minutely observed details. No longer tethered to a specific tale, this sequel brings in elements from legends across time and around Europe. Like the first entry, the narrative here unfolds in short vignettes from multiple perspectives (all apparently white). The secondary characters—even in brief appearances—make the most vivid impressions; Rose and Charles seem somewhat opaque. Still, she remains fearless, independent, clever, and determined (if headstrong and heedless); he is again the kindhearted, if bewildered, gentleman in distress.

Necessary wherever the first is popular; a good addition to any collection where fairy-tale retellings circulate well. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172112133
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/23/2018
Series:	East , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

Read an Excerpt

MOTHER

I HAD NEVER BEEN ONE TO DREAM. This irked me much in my youth because dreams were rich with portents and guideposts for one’s life. I sorely envied those who dreamed, even though Arne always said it was for the best, that I was far too susceptible to being swayed by superstitions as it was.
     At any rate, I had resigned myself to the fact that I was the dreamless kind and would always remain so, until that night in late spring when I had the dream about Rose.
     I woke up drenched with sweat, clutching Arne’s arm so hard that he had marks on his forearm for days afterward.
     “Eugenia!” he was saying, half in pain and half in concern. He told me later that my eyes had been crazed, wide with terror.
     “Arne,” I gasped, barely able to breathe.
     “What was it, my dear? A nightmare?” Arne asked, reaching out his arms to pull me to him, to comfort me, but I jerked back, holding him away with a hand on his chest.
     “It was horrible. Horrible,” I moaned, and began to shake.
     “Tell me,” Arne said.
     “It was Rose,” I cried. “I dreamed . . . Oh, Arne!” And with that, I began to sob.
     He held me and kept me close until the tears eased and I could breathe again.
     Rose was the youngest of our seven children, and she was always the one who had given me the most anguish over the years. Indeed, little more than three years earlier, we had come close to losing her forever when she set out on her quest to find Charles after he had been taken by the Troll Queen.
     “’Twas only a dream,” Arne said softly, trying to comfort me. But all I could do was shake my head in despair.
     He led me into the kitchen and made me a cup of chamomile tea. While it cooled, I tried to sort myself out. Part of me did not want to tell Arne the dream. I worried that giving it voice might somehow make it come true.
     Arne tried his best to reassure me, pointing out that the night before I had eaten rather more onions than usual with the roasted beef, which wasn’t a bit true.
     Finally he said, “Tell me the dream, Eugenia.” And I did. I could not keep it bottled up inside me any longer.
     “The dream began,” I said, “with Rose wandering alone through a forest. And I was there too, following behind, but she could not see me. As Rose wended her way through the trees, she came upon an overlarge gray raven perched on a low-hanging branch. Instead of giving it a wide berth, as I would have had her do, Rose made straight for it. And the raven swooped toward her. She froze in place, and as the bird hurtled at her, cawing loudly, Rose suddenly faded to a dull gray color, and I realized with horror that she had turned to ash.”
     “Ash?” Arne said, making sure he had heard me correctly.
     “Yes, ash,” I said, “and then the bird flew up into the sky, its powerful wings beating the air, which caused the ash-Rose to fly up as well. But all at once, she was no longer recognizable as a person, was instead a swirling, spiraling pattern of gray. Abruptly the bird disappeared and the air was still. The ashes dispersed and separated and fell softly to the ground, blanketing the forest floor, as if with a dusting of gray snow.”
     Arne was staring at me, his mouth slightly open.
     “Something terrible is going to happen to Rose,” I cried out, my voice shrill.
     We had not seen Rose and Charles for more than a year, but they were due to visit us in two weeks’ time. Rose was coming with her bairn from their home near La Rochelle in Fransk, while Charles was returning from a recent stay in Stockholm, Sverige, where he had been commissioned by King Gustav himself to play his flauto in the royal orchestra and to share his expertise and refinements on the orchestra’s wind instruments.
     Arne shut his mouth and sat up straighter. “Nonsense,” he said briskly. “’Twas only the onions you ate.”
     “But Arne—” I cried.
     “There are no ravens on ships,” he said. “You’ll see, Eugenia. Rose and her bairn will be with us soon, safe and sound.”
     I prayed that he was right.

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