A Frozen Heart

September 15, 2015
Back story is explored in this novel based on Disney's Frozen. Anna and Elsa are princesses who live in Arendelle. As youngsters they are close, but an accident causes Elsa, the elder, to distance herself from Anna. Anna has no memory of the accident and no one enlightens her, so she spends the next 14 years wondering why her sister avoids her. Meanwhile Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, who has 12 older, bullying brothers, plots to get his own kingdom. He finds his chance when he learns that Elsa will be crowned queen of Arendelle. Making his way there, he woos Anna by mistake. Anna, however, thinks she's found true love. Told in alternating chapters and points of view between Hans and Anna, the story lurches along. Action scenes read as detached description, and there are more than a few plot inconsistencies. Hans, whose manipulative behavior is explained by his repressive upbringing-a promising premise-never gets beyond one-dimensional, and Anna, with her vapid, textureless voice, is trite at best. The story's theme of true love (heads up, girls-true love means sacrifice) is a reinforcement of outdated stereotypes. This story tries to cater to both younger girls' dreams of being a princess and older girls' desires for both empowerment and romance but misses the mark on both. (Fantasy. 10-13)

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