Book Review: Robbergirl by S.T. Gibson

 

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Content Warning: violence, death (including that of a child), homophobia (internalized and external), animal death, kidnapping, misogyny.

Raised in a den of thieves, Helvig has grown up strong and assertive, unafraid to take any prize that she desires. When she and her men try to rob a pale, strange girl on the road, Helvig is immediately drawn to her, not quite sure what exactly is it she finds so captivating. Her men suspect the girl, Gerda, of being a witch, and Helvig uses their assumption to bag herself a treasure like no other to take back home to her father, the Robber King. As Gerda and Helvig slowly befriend one another back at the Robber King's camp, Helvig learns that she's on a mission that, initially, she laughs off as a silly story. Gerda is travelling to Samiland, hoping to find the Snow Queen there, who she says stole her little brother years ago. But as Christmas draws nearer and the veil between the living and the dead grows thinner, Helvig begins to wonder if there might be some truth in Gerda's tale, and has to ask herself: to what lengths will she go for this girl who is slowly enchanting her?

When A Dowry of Blood came out, S.T. Gibson became quite the hot topic, and ever since then, I've been meaning to pick up one of her books. I decided to ease in with this rather short story based off Hans Christian Andersen's original fairytale. Gibson intrigues from the very first page, introducing us both to the brash, hotheaded Helvig and to her opposite, the cool, composed Gerda, immediately thrusting us into the middle of the story. Her beautiful prose, neither too overdone nor too dry, goes so perfectly with the relating of a fairytale that it seems almost too good to be true.

Our heroines are both interesting, girls who come from separate backgrounds but find a connection between them that sparks something they both try, at turns, to hide from and to bring into the light. Helvig is particularly lovable, a combination of ill-manners and a longing to be accepted that will make your heart ache. Gerda is lovely, just distant enough to make you wonder what it is that she's keeping to herself, and it's obvious why they feel drawn to one another. Gibson expands a little on the feeling of loneliness particular to girls who are without female companionship of any kind, and she does a fantastic job of making you understand why Helvig and Gerda become so quickly attached without cheapening the depth of their relationship whatsoever.

I was worried that because this story is on the short side, clocking in at only around 200 pages, there would perhaps be a dearth of character development, or the plot might suffer. Miraculously, Gibson achieves what few are able, and despite the brief length, Gerda and Helvig (as well as the side characters) all emerge as three-dimensional, rounded-out people. I also liked that Gibson does pause the action of Gerda's mission for a little, allowing us time to fall in love with our protagonists, but it resumes without us ever getting to the point of boredom.

It's truly the relationship between Gerda and Helvig that creates the centerpiece of this story. It's so beautifully written, with such real, deep feeling, that by the end of the tale, I found myself close to tears. This doesn't happen all that often, and I typically read books that are on the more emotional, darker side of things, so I suppose the reaction it got from me says something! The familial relationships are also expertly done, and speaking with frankness, there's really nothing about this gorgeous tale that I would change.

Highly recommended, especially for those of you who love fairytales and will appreciate the little details that Gibson includes to reference the original!