Charlie and Leah's review
This book is about a girl going on an adventure to find her father set in Viking times when king Edward would soon become king of England. But what happens when she is sentenced to death? Alva is a very brave and will never stop trying to find her father. Although she has not found him in this book yet so hopefully there will be a 3rd book. I wish Sigurd, Alva’s friend, had not killed the queen with poison so then Alva would not have got locked up in Jorvik. I think Alfred is very clever at getting through the town without being seen. Alva uses a lot of determination. She is also particularly good at hiding in barrels. It was good that Alva had the stone, so they did not chuck her overboard. Alva had a sacred stone which helped her and the ship navigate without sunlight. That stone was especially useful and kept them on track at night. Fen could not be controlled as he is a charging rhino crashing through the ship. Trained or not. He must be angry and protect Alva. King Edward was very considerate to Alva as he thought she killed his sister. Which is unbelievably bad news? I would rate it 4.5/5. I think it should have a flash back at the start though. 

Isobel's review
I really enjoyed reading this book because it was really exciting, packed with mystery and adventure. Two of the characters were really interesting to me, and they were Alva and her wolf, Femrir, because I really enjoyed the way they had a strong bond with each other. The wolf was protective, and lots of people might be scared of a wolf or think it would be a villain, but this wolf was tame. I liked Alva because she was bold. She doesn’t just let other people do things she doesn’t agree with - she goes for whatever she wants to do and is not afraid to stand up for herself. Sometimes she is afraid when she hasn’t got her wolf with her, but she always confronts her fear and then goes back to normal straight after. I really hated King Ragnall because he is mean and harsh.

One of my favourite things about the book was that Alva was trying to find her father and at the end of the book she still hadn’t found him, but there had been lots of clues along the way. I liked that it ended on a cliffhanger and I would really like to read the next book.

Before I read this book I thought that Vikings were cruel. But in the book I learned that though their ways were sometimes harsh and women were not treated equally with men, they could also be kind and nice. The plot was really exciting because it was so mysterious and magical. I would recommend it to people who really like Harry Potter as it has a similar feel to it. I would give it 10/10.

Jean's review

Which of the characters you found most interesting and why?
I know Alva is the main character but I just think she has got quite an interesting background and she is very brave so she has to be my favourite person in the book. However, my favourite character is obviously Fen because wolves are my favourite animal!

Which of the characters (if any) you didn’t like and why?
I didn’t really like Sigurd because he killed the queen and had mercy for it. He was so foolish and I just hated him as soon as he gave Alva her sun stone back even though that was a good thing. I never expected him to be a sort of bad guy though!

Did you learn anything new about the past from the book?
Not really but I did learn that there is one thing you had to have if you were a Viking and that is bravery!

What made the history or the time it was set interesting to you?
I think setting it in the Viking times was a good idea because that was probably when there were lots of wars going on so the story could really be brought into shape!

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious or light-hearted?
Well the plot was definitely exciting, serious and heart-provoking. It is exciting because she is ready to go on a big adventure but serious because she is going to do something that she might not be ready for and heart-provoking that she is doing this for her father which is so sweet!

What most stands out for you from the book?
The girl calls herself a leader type I really like it when a girl or women takes charge!!!

Would you recommend it to other pupils?
Well this is a tricky question. I am not sure of the answer!

Did you learn any new words from the book?
No not any that I can think of right now!

A short summary about how good I think this book is:
I think this book is very good but it is quite boring in some places. My favourite part is when Alva is getting a sleeping potion for Fen at the beginning of the book! My rating of this book would probably be 4 stars.

Polly's review
I enjoyed reading the book because I liked the main character, Alva. She was brave and had a pet wolf, called Fenir. They looked after each other. The wild seas reminded me of holidays on Cornwall.

This book was set in Viking times. They used longships, runes, swords, parchment and lived in old places like Mercia. The names, like Wulfael, sound foreign.

Alva was trying to find her father. It made me think of how horrible it would be to have to search for a family member, I would be frightened.  The plot was serious, it made me feel like I would not want to have lived then. They were often tired, cold, hungry and in danger.

Despite the dangers, Alva likes to explore new lands and solve mysteries. I enjoyed doing that with her.