Astrid the Unstoppable

by Maria Parr

Guy Puzey (Translator) and Katie Harnett (Cover Designer)

"Classic storytelling at its best, delightful and moving. I loved it." M. G. Leonard, author of Beetle Boy

Maria Parr's second novel is a hilarious and heart-warming story about family and friendship that will delight fans of Pippi Longstocking.

Astrid Glimmerdal loves to spend her days racing down the mountainside on her sledge and skis – the faster the better! She just wishes there were other children to share in her adventures. Instead, she has to put up with a grumpy 74 year old for a best friend (although secretly, she knows she wouldn't have it any other way).

Astrid's world is about to be turned upside down, however, first by the arrival of a strange family, and then a mystery woman. Her best friend, Gunnvald, has been keeping a secret from her – one that will test their friendship to its limits. Everything is changing in Astrid's world and she's not happy about it. Luckily, she has a plan...

A feisty and irrepressible heroine, Astrid is sure to charm readers in this modern classic in the making.

• ISBN10: 1406366854
• ISBN13: 9781406366853
• Publish Date: 2 November 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Walker Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

What would you get if you combined Pippi Longstocking with Dennis the Menance? Astrid the Unstoppable, of course! I fell in love with Astrid immediately. Her voice captured me, and her fearlessness, honesty, and big heart kept me captive.

It's so refreshing seeing things through a child's eyes, and Astrid sees and notices a lot. Not only do we have some fun adventures with Astrid, we also experience some more serious things, like missing a parent, divorce, death, missing a parent, and family secrets, but it's all done in such an age appropriate way.

I do not read a lot of books set in Norway, and I really enjoyed getting to see a little slice of Norwegian life. Skiing, sledding, lambing, and some interesting foods were just a few of the things we got to see in this book.

The heart of this book, for me, was the characters. Each and every person played such an important role in Astrid's life and I was glad to get to know them. Ola, Gunnveld, Heidi, dad, mom, and the aunties were all so lovely. Some were larger than life, while others were more low-key, but each was unique, interesting, and important to Astrid.

The ending this book was probably my favorite part. It was extremely heartwarming and left me with a smile on my face.

Overall: A delightful family tale starring a little spitfire, who won my heart.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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