Echo North
Author: Joanna Ruth Meyer
ARC: 389 pages
Barnes and Noble lists: 400 pages
Publisher: Page Street Publishing Co.
Trigger Warnings: bullying, insecurities about scars.
About the Author: Joanna Ruth Meyer has been writing since she was seven, kept writing, and published her first book, Beneath the Haunting Sea, in January of 2018. One year later, her newest release, Echo North, is sure to enchant readers. Both novels are lush with folklore and mythical legends that demonstrate the power of stories. Playing the piano since she was nine years old, Meyer earned a BA of music in piano performance, and continues to teach and inspire her students. She lives in Mesa, Arizona with her husband and son, escaping to the wintery north in her books.
“I studied his face and wondered, for the first time, what he looked like in real life. What lines and scars did the book worlds smooth away for him?”
“I went north, to where the stories always said the wild things lived, where the folktales came from and magic dwelt still in the mountaintops”
For Echo Alkaev, “facing one’s fears” is a little too literal. Scarred by an enormous white wolf as a child, she has been ostracized from the village and even she cannot see past her trauma. Years later, desperate and looking for an escape, Echo finds her father lost and unconscious in the wintery wood – with the very same wolf that wounded her. She goes to live with the Wolf for one year in exchange for her father’s life and safe travel home. A collected patchwork of magical rooms and creatures, the Wolf’s house takes a lot of work and care. The house is full of mysteries – especially in its library of book-mirrors and the Wolf itself. As the year disappears, so does the house as the Wolf’s enchantment threatens his life. Desperate to save both the Wolf and her new reading companion, Hal, Echo must discover the house’s secrets for herself and decide who to trust.
Inspired by fairytales and myths such as the Norwegian fairytale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Joanna Ruth Meyer’s own take on the classic is a warm light in the cold of winter. She explores deceptive appearances, beauty, loyalty, and what it means to look past scars in order to live and love. The perfect cozy read, this novel is lush with lyrical language and moving melodies that will make you never want to let go.
PRR Writer: Anna Gerwig
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