When We Were Vikings

By: Andrew David MacDonald

Narrated by: Phoebe Strole

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.

Critic reviews

"This gem of a performance by narrator Phoebe Strole shines so bright that it will surely catch the eye (or ear) of any listener. Viking enthusiast Zelda fiercely lives her life without apology. Her fetal alcohol syndrome is a mere hiccup in her plan to write her own legend. While she's determined to become her own person as she migrates into her 20s, life becomes more difficult when she discovers that her brother, Gert, has been dealing drugs in order to support the two of them financially. Strole's innocent and thoughtful tone is custom tailored to Zelda's curious and vivid personality. Listeners will also find each supporting character complex, real, and unique. With Strole's raw approach, this spectacular story and performance will be a fantastic addition to any audio library."

Listen before you judge

This book was part of our book club list for the month of March, and I am SO happy to have chosen it. Anyone who is complaining about the “obsession with sex” or the “over use of cussing” has clearly never spent time with anyone who is neurodivergent. The subject matter was handled so well!

I’m typically wary of reading stories about women written by men, but the author did a wonderful job of researching his subject. All in all, I’d give it 10/10 if I could.

Exceptional

I can’t even begin to tell you how much this book touched my heart, especially at the end. I’m not one that’s real emotional, but it got me.

Excellent.

I enjoyed this immensely. Fell in love with the characters. Zelda is such a Valkyrie! We could all learn something from her.

Too few star ratings

If I could give this novel 10 stars, I would! Every high school student should have this novel as required reading, including highly dyslexic students who could read it via Audible.

The perspective of the main character is SO educational and the first person narrative creates so much power addressing so many areas of aspects of survival and compassion among handicapped people, their families, and the nature of other professionals helping them.

Siblings caring for siblings without parents is a topic seldom addressed in novels. The entire novel makes one ask, who is taking care of whom?
It discusses good guys vs. bad guys, and shades of gray between good vs. evil.

It also makes one wonder who is truly handicapped, disabled people or normal people?

Just a really great piece of modern literature!

Wow!!!

Best novel I have read in a really long time. Get it. Listen to it. Love it. You won’t regret it.