Hush by Donna Jo Napoli

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli is the story of Melkorka, a wealthy Irish Princess growing up during the 900s. During her birthday trip to Dublin, Melkorka's only brother (and heir to the throne) has his hand cut off as a result of a Viking gambler losing a bet. To pay the family back, the man responsible for the gambler proposes marriage to Melkorka. Their father agrees, but only to lay a trap. His plan is to send his own army to the Viking ship, disguised as women, and slaughter his enemies. All the while, Melkorka and her younger sister, Brigid, would flee and hide. Unfortunately, as they execute this plan, Melkorka and Brigid are captured by some Russian slave-traders and whisked away from Ireland. On the voyage, Brigid manages to escape by jumping overboard. Melkorka, on the other hand, remains with the Russians. Because she has refused to speak from the moment she was captured, the Russians both fear her and are in awe of her. She is treated differently than the rest of the slaves. Melkorka comes to realize that despite being a slave, she has power over her voice. Throughout the rest of the story Melkorka remains mute. She sees and experiences many horrific things through the rest of the story, including being sold to a Viking who uses her as a mistress, witnessing a man put through a gruesome "test" to reveal whether or not he is trustworthy, and even watching as her Viking captors throw one of their own wounded friends overboard when they learn he will not survive his wounds.

I really liked this book. It was really interesting to read about this time period, of which I know little. I liked the way Melkorka changed throughout her experiences. In the beginning she relied on her 8 year old sister, Brigid, to know what to do next. By the end of the story, Melkorka had grown much wiser and was self reliant. It was also very interesting to realize how much pleasure one can get from something simple under dire circumstances, like how Melkorka was so excited to see the same bird over and over while at sea. This is a book for a more mature audience due to some violence and physicality.