Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai is the most recent book I’ve finished reading.  I was drawn in by the cover at my local Barnes and Noble, and intrigued by the description on the back of the book.  I put it back on the shelft and sent myself a text so that I might remember to add it to my book wishlist for later.  Dan bought the book he had found and we headed back out to the car, where he then pulled a book out of his bag and handed it to me.  Somehow he had managed to buy me Ice Song, right under my nose with me not being any the wiser.  I loved it!  And I got to read a new book that looked really interesting.  And it was.

Ice Song follows the story of a woman named Sorykah (such a pretty name) and her travails to recover her kidnapped children.  She is unique though, because she is a Trader, someone who can switch genders.  This presents it’s own advantages and disadvantages as she travels in search of the man known as the Collector who has taken her twin babies.  Throughout her journey Sorykah and her alter-ego Soryk, meet all manner of people/creatures who have been affected by something simply known as The Change.  Mixed in with the overall plot there are twines of friendship, romance, lust, passion, jealousy, faith, and simple survival.

The world created is vivid and the characters bring the book to life.  Sometimes I feel it’s hard to find a book or a story that feels new to me, and this one stood out.  The myraid of characters were things my imagination found new and wondrous.  Their stories were all different, and usually touched with sadness.  I felt for all of them, only in different ways. Some characters I did not like at all, some I grew to understand more as their story unfolded and my opinions of them changed.  Some of the characters themselves grew and tried to be better than what they were before.  I find characters who can change, or characters who cause my opinon of them to change to be the most engaging.

Fans of fantasy should definitely check this out.  It’s not the kind of story I am typically drawn to, but it was a good read, and a very enjoyable story.  I was caught up in the life of Soryk/Sorykah, as well as the other characters involved in their epic quest to rescue the babies.