West of the Moon

Hmm I just said about [b:Nightingale's Nest 18079712 Nightingale's Nest Nikki Loftin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1372053777s/18079712.jpg 21938396] that maybe I just don't like magical realism, but I liked this book a lot? Does this count as magical realism? WHAT IS THIS I don't know, it's such a cool seamless blend of fairy tales and historical fiction and actual historical documents?? I loved Astri as a protagonist who is in a super tough spot and makes some horrible, brave choices and then has to deal with the consequences. I know fairy tale retellings are popular with a lot of kids of all ages, and these feel really fresh to me because they're Norwegian folk tales, so a lot of them are similiar in vibe to the stories a lot of Americans grew up with, but also weird and different. I think that a lot of tweens/teens would like this but they might need to be sold on it a little bit, possibly by stressing the darker elements of it? It could be a good all-class readaloud, maybe, especially paired with a unit about immigration. Or folk tales.