When We Were Vikings

Zelda is a 20-year-old with mild developmental disabilities who lives with her older brother. As she reaches a point in her life where she feels ready to start to live autonomously, she channels her love of vikings and decides to embark on a personal “quest to become legendary”. Her steps along her self-defined path are intertwined with her brother’s challenges to support the two of them while trying to deal with his own set of issues.

By most accounts, MacDonald handles the characterization of Zelda admirably, but some reviewers did find portions of the book to be too “ableist”. It’s not a subject I know enough about to comment on the authenticity of MacDonald’s portrayal of Zelda or her friends with disabilities. For me, I thought it was a compelling read with plenty of heart and a little humor as well.

For those who enjoyed 2022's The Maid, there are certainly some personality similarities between Zelda and Molly, the main protagonist in The Maid. While Molly's quirks got old for me, that wasn't the case in When We Were Vikings. The plot (and twists) were more elegantly crafter in Vikings as well, so this is a little bit of "read this, not that". Or if you've already read The Maid and enjoyed it, I think you'll certainly like this one.