This is one of the nominees for the Maine Student Book Award. It was a okay book. I prefer her one of her picture books, Diary of a Wombat. The author also uses footnotes throughout the book to clarify certain Viking terms that might be confusing. I could see why maybe teachers would really like this, but I found it to be a bit distracting.

The book is called Rover, which is the name of the dog. The main character is Hekja, the dog's owner. She lives a quiet life on an island until it is attacked by Vikings. She manages to outrun almost everyone but is captured by Freja and taken as a thrall. What happens to her after she is captured is the basis of the rest of the book. There is some mild romance at the end, which I sort of knew was going to happen the second the male character was introduced. There is sort of a romantic rival, and he is really easily done away with.

I do not think this book will win at all.