Elsa or Anna? Frozen or Frozen II?

Please tell me you loved the Frozen movies as much as I did…I was over the moon excite when I received a copy of Frozen 2: Dangerous Secrets which tells the story Iduna and Agnarr — yes, the parents of Elsa and Anna (which if you haven’t seen Frozen 2, we get a tiny peek into their story …) Some of my favorite stories are those that take a small part of a bigger story and expound on it. This story is no exception.

If you are a fan of the Frozen franchise, you’re going to love this story. If you’re a fan of good story and romance … you’re going to love this story. With the days getting shorter (and colder) this is the perfect story to curl up with, with your favorite hot drink!

I'm a huge fan of the Disney "FROZEN" universe -- have been since the 2013 film, in fact -- and so this was a perfect addition to the Arendelle mythos!

Iduna and Agnarr have such little screen time in the film -- they're more catalysts than characters, to be quite honest -- so I very much appreciated this glimpse into their earlier lives! It really fleshed out their characters, and gave breadth and depth to the glimpses of Enchanted Forest life seen throughout "FROZEN II."

Plus, it's very well written: well-paced, and doused with immersion. I found myself finishing this in just a couple sittings, it was THAT good!

For Disney fans, Frozen fanatics, or anyone who loves a cute little love story... this is the book for you!

Very cute! Love Disney stories, especially frozen, this was fun! I would definitely purchase this for a few friends!

An imaginative and immersive entry into the Frozen universe that’s really engaging for some of the older fans of the universe

Fun read into the history of Elsa and Anna's parents and what sets up the Frozen storyline. Enjoyed!

I really enjoyed this. I always enjoy getting backstories on classic Disney stories that we all know and love. I read this with my kids who are HUGE Frozen fanatics and they all approve so what more do you need in a book :)

Mari Mancusi is one of my favorite middle grade authors and when I saw that she was writing a Frozen book I was instantly drawn! I love the backstory of this book and I felt instantly drawn and connected to it. Well described and well written for any age.

This was a very cute story. I can definitely see my students loving this book as much as the films. Definitely recommend.

Frozen 2: Dangerous Secrets is a prequel to Frozen but definitely should be read after seeing both Frozen 1 and Frozen 2. It is the story of Iduna and Adnarr - the parents of Anna and Else. Their story was beautiful and the author does such a fantastic job of describing their love, letting it organically build and then expanding on the Frozen universe. I would have loved even more details of the Northuldra and Iduna's early life although you do get bits and pieces throughout the story.

I do recommend this book to any fans of Frozen who want to know more about the kindgom of Arendelle and how Anna/Elsa came to be who they are.

The description may have been a bit more catchy than the book itself. A little simply written. Would recommend for a younger crowd perhaps. Cute story regardless.

So, I've always been curious by sneak-peeks into the past or future of well-known stories.

So, when I heard about the book about Iduna and Agnarr (Elsa/Anna's parents), I was really intrigued.

Unfortunately, this one felt like a filler book. There were some new details provided but not as many as I hoped.

The story didn't take any wild or new twists, it was just filling in more details to events already well-established in the universe.

Ultimately, this one was interesting but limited.

This book serves as the prequel to Frozen. The beautiful tale of two sisters, each unique in their own way. Elsa is born with ice powers, while Anna is just the cutest little bundle of joy. The family lives in their happily ever after until one they it all comes crashing down, one by one. After all, nothing lasts forever, even ‘Happily ever afters’. As a child Elsa accidently hurts Anna and then the family vows to keep Elsa’s powers a secret until she learns how to control it, but Elsa’s condition gets worse every day and she isolates herself from the entire world.

We know how it all ends, but this book tells us how it all BEGAN. Why Elsa was born with magical powers, what was the source of her power and what does it all have to do with her mother?

The story of Iduna and Agnarr is just that. The answer to all the questions that troubled the Frozen fandom. The story begins with the Arendellians plotting against the peaceful people of Northuldra. The king was the tyrant who began the fight. Caught in the crossfire was the poor orphan Iduna trying to help Agnarr, who had fallen unconscious after hitting his head. Gayle, the wind spirit also Iduna’s best and only friend, helps her and Agnarr into a cart and covers both with a sheet to hide them.

“Chocolate makes everything better.”

Iduna, unable to get off, is trapped OUTSIDE of the forest as an impenetrable mist covers it up. She is off to Arendelle, a place completely unknown to her. Lord Petersen helps Iduna take up a fake identity to protect her from the people. Iduna befriends the prince. The two grow up together, embarking on an adventure to check the mist every year. Iduna takes up an apprenticeship with a craftworker in town. She develops ways to make a windmill work.

“The Annihilator of meetings, the returner of stinky socks!”

Agnarr is a kindhearted and a joyful boy. The two become inseparable, teasing each other, playing in the castle and having lessons together. Agnarr takes special interest in the little things happening around the kingdom, he prefers spending time with Iduna rather than doing all the ‘king stuff’. When Agnarr comes of age, he develops feelings for Iduna and soon their romance blossoms.

The story has so much exciting things for me to point out but I won’t spoil it for you! It even had Kay and Gerda from the original story of ‘The Snow Queen’. Their characters weren’t really big, but they did Agnarr a HUGE favor without which the happy ending would’ve been impossible. What I loved the most about this story was the love of books that the couple had! Especially that chase over ‘The Little Mermaid’. The same old tradition, that a Prince must marry a princess, shows up too, but only to be put to rest by Agnarr.

Many moments and things were linked to what we have seen in the movies. If you’ve watched the movies closely, you’ll know!

This big bundle of Disney magic gets a full 5 out of 5 from me!

You'll see Frozen 2 on my favorite movies list soon and after watching it I just wanted more and was so delighted by this book! Here's the backstory of the sister's parents, Iduna and Agnarr, and it's both filled with adventure and love. It really captured the feeling of the movie for me by bringing in magical elements but also highlighting human strengths of bravery and kindness. Even if you haven't watched the movies, you could still really enjoy this as a standalone book.

Great, interesting backstory into the parents of beloved Frozen characters, Anna and Elsa. In Frozen 2 the movie, more information was shared on King Agnarr and Queen Iduna which is a great set up for this book. I enjoyed reading this book aloud to my 10 year old daughter

THIS BOOK BROKE ME. We all knew years ago how this book ends when the first Frozen movie came out. It didn't stop me from absolutely falling in love with Iduna and Agnarr and absolutely getting my heart broken on the last page.
This book starts out (well, it really starts out with Iduna and Agnarr on that fateful trip, but we won't talk about that) with Iduna living peacefully with the Northuldra and about to meet with the people from Arendelle. Then as we know from Frozen 2, a fight breaks out killing the king of Arendelle and trapping all the Northuldra (except Iduna) as well as some Arendelle soldiers behind an impenetrable mist. This was quickly shown in the movie, but it was fascinating seeing it directly from the eyes of the people who were there at the time. Following Iduna and Agnarr instead of Elsa and Anna brought so much depth to the overall story we all already know. I loved how strong Iduna was. She basically snuck into Arendelle leaving every single person she had ever known trapped. She made a life for herself with her own 2 hands and I absolutely loved her journey. Agnarr lost his only parent the same day Iduna lost her family and it just felt like they were meant to be. Their relationship was the literal cutest EVER. They started as best friends and it just turned into lifelong love (as we know). While a lot of this book was about their growing relationship and their journeys, I was never once bored or found the book slow.
The writing was great. There were so many lines I recognized from the movies and it was such a joy to find each and every one of them. Conceal, don't feel. Into the unknown. He's a bit of a fixer-upper. They were sprinkled all throughout the book.
I loved how Iduna and Agnarr's relationship was not easy. Princes marry princesses, not peasants, no matter that she is the prince's best friend. Although at the same time, it made their fate that much more heartbreaking. This whole book shows how they were some of the good people. We find out they die because they are trying to save Elsa. They would do anything to help her.
The book goes all the way up until they tell Elsa they are going to a wedding (minus the epilogue) including what felt like behind the scenes of several scenes in both movies. It was fascinating getting the point of view from Iduna and Agnarr of scenes from the movies we know so well from Elsa and Anna's perspectives. If you are any type of Frozen fan and are ok with getting your heart ripped out of your chest and stomped on, read this book!

Disclaimer: I am a Frozen Fangirl. But I did have some major questions after watching Frozen 2, and this book did fill in those gaps I had after watching that movie. I really enjoyed learning about Anna and Elsa's parents, and even though I knew how it would end, I really loved the journey.

Iduna has been keeping a secret from her husband Agnarr, and as they are getting mentally prepared to go down with the ship that we all know sinks them, Iduna is finally ready to tell Agnarr her story. She takes us back to her early memories of being a Northundra child. She rescues Agnarr, and as a result, is shut out from her family and home. She moves into Arendelle, where she eventually becomes a valued member of the community with her ingenious thinking and inventing skills. Agnarr, meanwhile, is learning how to become a king. The two, of course, will fall in love, but there are many trials they must face before they can have their happily ever after.

There were some Easter eggs for fans, like lines from the songs were included throughout the novel, but the whole book was a welcome addition to the Frozen canon. Did I think I needed a history of Iduna and Agnarr? No. Am I glad I got one? Absolutely.

This is a great book for preteens who are looking for something YA and are familiar with Frozen, but aren't quite ready for the heavy romance that some YA contains. There is some kissing, but it's pretty tame.

I absolutely loved this. There is just something so magical and enchanting about Frozen and all of the characters! We got a glimpse of Elsa and Anna’s parents in the movies but this makes them so much more real and heartwarming. It makes you realize how truly deep and sad the movies are... especially that they no longer have these great people in their lives. I would recommend this to any frozen fan.

I shared reading this with my daughter who wanted to watch the movie last year as her bday gift, which meant, waiting over a month to head to the theatre.

This storyline from Mancusi was really well done. It brought the Frozen-verse back into our minds and did a great job blending book world and movie world. It helped thread in some of the questions/plot lines left unsaid and were unknown in the film. It also did a great job bringing depth, character and emotion where many other Disney books have fallen flat.

Both daughter and I are glad to have taken the time to read it.

This special take recounts the story of Agnarr and Iduna. Fans of Frozen finally discover the secrets of Arendelle, and learn more about the mysterious sisters’ parents. During a fierce battle, Northuldra princess Iduna rescues the son of the enemy. Soon, she’s stuck on the other side of a mist wall, unable to get back to her family, not knowing whether they lived or died in the ferocious Battle of the Dam. Soon, Iduna and Agnarr become friends, finding solace in each other after their terrible ordeal. When friendship begins to blossom into something more, obstacles and secrets threaten to tear them apart.

<i>"When you go out there, you must stand taller than you are. Act braver than you feel. Show them, through every move you make, every word you say, that they have nothing to fear....You must show them you are not afraid."
"Even when I am?"
"You would be a fool not to be...But you must not show that fear to your people. Pull it deep inside you. Conceal it in your heart. Don't feel it. Don't let it show....That is what your father did. And his father before him. That is what kings do to protect their people. And this is what you must do now."</i>

A solid read, for me. I think I'd actually put this at 3.5 stars, but I can't quite round up to 4. It was a smart decision, I think, to read this on the heels of the Twisted Tale, because I do think there was some effort to introduce some continuity between the stories. There are some returning characters, for instance, namely Lord Peterssen as the regent and the servants, Kai and Gerda. But some details were glaringly absent -- and which I noted in the Twisted Tale. For example: in the Twisted Tale, Anna's adoptive mother, Tomally, is said to be a childhood friend of Iduna's. Which...doesn't make sense. She *could* be Northuldra, I suppose, but they were all trapped in the mist. And Iduna could have met her in Arendelle, where she grew up, but...Iduna lived in an orphanage and her best friend -- her only friend -- was Agnarr. There was no character named Tomally in this book. So...there's that.

On the whole, I thought Mancusi did a better job telling a story in the Frozen universe than Calonita did with the Twisted Tale. Mancusi's writing style was "better" IMO, particularly when it came to dialogue. To be fair, Mancusi had a bit of an easier time, as there was no pre-established backstory for Iduna and Agnarr and she had more room to "play" around and more of an ability to exercise creative license. There were some prescribed bounds she had to fit within, but for the most part, I thought her story succeeded better. (I also thought she was more adept at working in the subtle references to the films -- little lines added in here and there, even some from songs that didn't make it into the films.
For example. Agnarr's terrible rendition of a popular Arendellian song goes, <i>"I smell that reindeer pee, blowing through the fjord. Iduna's ignoring me, so I'm really bored"</i> is a SUPER subtle reference to a deleted song from Frozen II, where Anna sings, <i>"I smell that salty breeze blowing through the fjord, I hear those creaky ships as old board meets old board"</i>..." SUPER deep pull, and as a fellow Disney Uber Nerd, I appreciate that.

Ultimately, though, the story focused *a lot* on Iduna and Agnarr's courtship....which is fine, but not where I think I wanted the story to focus. That is, a lot of the tension revolved around the fact that Agnarr and Iduna couldn't be together because Iduna wasn't royalty, but....we know that they end up together, married, with two daughters. So that tension didn't really work, because we all know it's going to work out. (Well, for a little bit at least.) Instead, I wanted more of the Northuldra mythology, of that world, of Atohollan and the spirits. This story didn't give us much more than the films did, which I found disappointing.

Other thoughts...

✔︎ -- I did like that Mancusi went to such great lengths to explain "Conceal, don't feel." That's such a big part of the first film -- and seems to be an abysmally bad parenting decision on Agnarr and Iduna's part -- so I liked that Mancusi sought to explain *why* that would be Agnarr's go-to move when his daughter and heir was in crisis. I still don't love it, nor am I thrilled that Iduna is still essentially sidelined in Mancusi's retelling, but at least we get more insight into her parenting quandries. (That is, it always bugged me that Agnarr seems to make unilateral decisions in the first film, and Iduna -- like many Disney mothers before her -- has very little to say or do except cry out in distress.)

✘ -- Still no answer on whether the servants knew about Elsa's magic when she was a child. Which...I really wanted. Yes, Agnarr and Iduna taught Elsa to conceal it, but as many of my students have pointed out, the people in the castle would have noticed the giant piles of ice (or water) lying around the castle. Did Grand Pabbie erase their memories too? I have questions.

﹅ -- I felt similarly about the Twisted Tale, but it kinda bugged me that this felt like a contemporary story. There were no markers of historical time period. It's the mid-nineteenth century, but it feels, at times, that it could be set in the present day (in some ways) and...yeah. Not sure how I feel about that....

✔︎ -- ...on the one hand, I appreciated that Iduna was a strong character, even it if is historically inaccurate for her to (1) be an apprentice for an inventor/engineer; (2) get paid for that; and (3) rent a house on her own terms. She's very modern and independent which, again, is great, but not something a woman in the 19th century would have been able to do. Teacher, yes. Governess, yes. But not a windmill inventor.

✘ -- The flip side of this is that despite knowing it's set in the 19th century, and somehow feels modern, there are some very clear fairy tale tropes -- namely, the Good Guys Are Good and the Bad Guys Are Bad. People are very reductively categorized here -- The King of Vassar, once it's revealed that's he's A Bad Guy, goes dark pretty quickly. (Luckily, not too dark, but still.) And Iduna and Agnarr, while resilient, are surprisingly okay with everything that happens to them, as fairy tales characters are wont to be. Even after Iduna reveals all the secrets she's been keeping FOR YEARS, Agnarr barely flinches -- and this is a guy who had several teenage melodrama moments about how he hated the secrets that were being kept from him. And when his wife and True Love comes clean, he basically responds with, "Our love is stronger than any secret." A nice sentiment, yes, but not really a realistic one.

﹅ -- Also: are we supposed to understand that the ice harvester woman who visits the trolls to have her memory wiped is Kristoff's mom? Because I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS.

✘ -- Oh! And the one thing that really bugged me about the POV was that Mancusi switched to Agnarr's POV for the Big Reveal at the "climax." I mean, yeah, I saw it coming, but this was Iduna's big moment, and we didn't get to see her go undercover, figure everything out, and then have her triumphant reveal to save the kingdom. A little annoyed by that, because it was right around the time that I felt the story was starting to drag with the "forbidden love" plot. Again, we KNOW they're going to end up together, so I wish Mancusi would have streamlined that part and focused more on Iduna's fact-finding espionage.

Conclusion: A solid read, and a nice foray back into Arendelle, but it focused a little too much on the romance aspect and not as much on the mythology of the world as I would have liked.

**I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.