By Kaylie Seed
Content warning: suicide, alcoholism, drug use
I have always been fascinated by languages and the origin of words—where do certain words come from and how have they become what we know today? I also really enjoy reading about all things Nordic. When I read the synopsis for Erica Ferencik’s Girl in Ice and found out that the main character was a linguist who focused on dead Nordic languages, I knew this would be a book I would love—and boy, was I right.
Val Chesterfield has devoted a large part of her life to deciphering lost languages and studying the etymology of words. Even though she is an accomplished linguist, Val struggles with extreme anxiety and self-medicates using alcohol and pills, never travelling far from home or work. When her late brother Wyatt’s research partner reaches out to Val about a young girl who was frozen in ice and thaws out alive—a scientific impossibility—on a remote island in Greenland, Val feels compelled to help. But Val also has an ulterior motive: to find out if her brother really did willingly walk into 50-degree below zero weather to die or if something more sinister happened in this place where a girl thawed from ice.
Ferencik has clearly done her research about Greenland's landscape and history. Girl in Ice is incredibly atmospheric, and Ferencik’s vivid descriptions truly transported me to this beautifully desolate land. Readers will also appreciate the history notes sprinkled throughout the plot as they enhance the reading experience. Everything about the setting was wonderfully done. Even though most readers would think of Greenland as a bare island covered in snow, readers will get to experience the rugged terrain, ice floes, glaciers, and various wildlife that make Greenland home.
Val is such a complex character, and the secondary characters throughout Girl in Ice all have interesting backstories. Readers will feel that Val’s characterization is done well, and in the end, will be satisfied with where she ends up as no loose ends are left. I really enjoyed how much Ferencik focused on Val’s linguistics throughout the novel; it truly was a focal point of this story and it showed. Other themes present include family, unconditional love, climate change, and mental illness.
I didn’t want this story to end. While it was tied up neatly in the end, I was craving the story to continue because of my appreciation for Val—she was a fantastic protagonist. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy mysteries, Nordic backgrounds, history, and language. This was my first read by Ferencik but it definitely won’t be the last.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.