Such an amazing read!!!  When We Were Vikings centers around Zelda who is a 21 year old on the fetal alcohol spectrum.  Zelda’s dad left when she was young and her mom pasted away and she lives with her older brother, Gert. Money is tight and Zelda has made it her mission to contribute monetarily.  Craving the stability of routine, Zelda forces herself out of her comfort zone to find a job.  All the while, Zelda is also going through the stages of first love with her boyfriend.  If Gert can get back together with his ex-girlfriend and stay in school everything in Zelda’s life will be as she wants it...right?!!!?  

I literally had my whole heart wrapped up in this book!!  Told through Zelda’s perspective, we follow her journey as she navigates becoming an adult and finding herself worthy enough to be the hero she’s always been!  The storyline managed to shatter my heart and build back together unlike any novel I’ve read before and I simply devoured it!  The cast of characters were eclectic and extremely endearing!!!  I am totally wow’ed by Andrew David MacDonald’s writing and the fact that it’s his debut novel?!?? Talk about hitting out of the park on your first try!!  I’m so flipping excited to see what Andrew David MacDonald comes out with next!!

I received a Digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

This book completely sucked me in. MacDonald did an amazing job of writing this book through the eyes of Zelda, a young woman on the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum, as she learns about life, love, family, right and wrong, good and bad, and, of course, vikings. 

Zelda lives her life according to a strict set of rules, where things are either good or bad and people are either heroes (Vikings) or villains (Grendels). But throughout the course of the story, Zelda learns that real life isn't always so black and white.