Alright, let's get one thing straight, I love this book! Honestly, one of my favorites!
I read the book "Icefall" by Matthew J. Kirby. Icefall is about a kingdom that is trapped by a fjord. The kingdom consists of the Kings children, who are Solveig, Asa, and Harald, Per, who is a knight, Alric, the skald (someone who tells stories to create a feeling, a walking book of tales), Ole, a fisher, Bera, the cook, and Raudi, Bera's son and knight/fighter in training, then later on Beserkers join them, they are a large group of warriors that the king sent to protect the kids, they are the most warrior/animal-like.
The kingdom is everyone but the king, who is away fighting another kingdom that wants Asa, the oldest and often praised for her beauty, to be their king's wife. The book follows Solveig, the middle child who has major middle child syndrome. A literal scene in the book talks about how her father said her only redeeming quality is how her voice sounds like her late mother's. You follow her as she watches the kingdom unravel and reveal to be a traitor in the steading. She tries to find a way to protect herself, her siblings, and everyone else. All the while she tries to figure herself out (i.e. what is her purpose, etc.).
I like Solveig because she seems like an actual person. She has self-doubts, which wouldn't be shocking in her situation, she has mixed emotions on who to trust and who not to, she shows courage, she shows fear, she is vulnerable at times, she is human. That is very difficult when writing a story, and most authors forget to make them human.
One more thing I like about her is her bravery. She willingly ran away on one occasion, told many stories in front of the entire steading (that is a huge thing, especially because she is just seen as the middle child of the king), stand up for Bera, protect Harald and Asa, and talk to Hake, the captain Berserker, enough to see how vulnerable he really can be and how the most strong and violent people can be vulnerable.
Another thing I like is the way she can tell what people need to hear. I, sadly, will somewhat spoil the book. I mean, it kind of is spoiling, but it's in the first, like, 5 chapters of the book. Solveig becomes a skald, or at least Alric's apprentice. The whole point of being a skald is to see what people need to hear, which is not always what they want to hear and to provide it to them in the best way. I do give Alric some credit, as he was the one who taught her how to be a good skald, but still. As the book describes, which I 100% agree with, she has a "silver tongue," and as the dictionary defines silver tongue, "a tendency to be eloquent and persuasive in speaking." She is persuasive in the sense of having them feel a few certain feelings, relief, joy, comfort, relaxation.
That is what I love about Solveig. I love how she is brave, she is an actual human, and how she can word her stories to fit what people need. I love how Matthew J. Kirby wrote her and the book in general.
