The other two had been dark, but this one almost oppressively so. The daughter of the hound and the bear undergoes many trials and sorrows and I'm not sure if the romance made up for it. ( )

Even though I have read and enjoyed the previous books, I still found the marriage of the hound and the bear a bit...odd and unsettling. Still, they made better parents than any of the others in the book. Plus, Live got some super sweet powers out of the deal: she can turn into any animal. I so wish I could do that; it would be my childhood dreams come true!

This fantasy novel, much like de Lint's The Painted Boy, is much more about Liva's internal battles than her battle with evil. The final conflict concludes swiftly and anticlimactically, leaving another two chapters in a short book. The focus is on her coming to terms with her humanity. In some sense, the ending reminds me of Kristin Cashore's Graceling, of how dark it is and how everything isn't perfect.

As a consequence of that, the most interesting aspects of the novel were the philosophical. Mette Ivie Harrison's fantasy world clearly reflects the way humans destroy nature, poisoning it and taming it to meet human needs. Her world definitely appeals to me, with the animal languages and the different kinds of magic. What I love about this, although it's a bit preachy, is the message that humans are no better than animals. It has always been a major pet peeve that we humans consider ourselves better than our animal counterparts. So many people claim that we are different from animals, that we aren't animals. Except for the part where we totally are. So, Mette Ivie Harrison, you rock for sharing my (totally correct) opinion. Also, I met her at ALA very briefly and she's a really sweet woman!

I recommend this book to those who enjoyed the previous books in the series. Although this one is not quite as good, it is a short read and thought-provoking. I would not suggest beginning here if you have not read any of the other books, since I think aspects of it would be confusing and off-putting.
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Aur-magic belongs to the natural end of the spectrum; tehr-magic to the human/harnessed end. Snowbirds, huge, mythical, creatures, used to protect and promulgate aur-magic, but something is wrong - gradually the giant birds have dwindled away until they're almost extinct. For Liva, the daughter of the Bear and the Hound (Princess and the Hound, Princess and the Bear), aur-magic means she can shift into the shape of any animal. But now a Hunter has invaded her forest and means to wrest all magic from both creatures and man. When she meets Jens, a young villager who also has no magic of his own, Liva is intrigued. Will the two working together be enough to defeat the Hunter's evil plan? Even with the help of the last remaining Snowbird, their best may not be enough.

Another somewhat ephemeral tale. Harrison's creations are interesting, but somewhat cold in tone - her characters would be more appealing if they were a bit less flat. ( )

Liva is a special girl who possesses aur-magic just as the animals of the forest do. This gives her the ability to change between many animal forms. Her parents both gave their aur-magic to Liva, and chose to spend the remainder of their lives in animal form so they could better protect their daughter. It is obvious Liva is destined for great things. She avoids contact with all humans until the day she meets Jens. Jens is devoid of both aur-magic, and the more common tehr-magic. Tehr-magic is what most humans possess, and use for not so nice things. When Jens sees Liva in animal form he knows she is special. They are immediately drawn to one another. Liva is unsure because of her limited contact with the human world, but is fascinated by Jens’s kindness. He has spent all of his life as an outcast because of his lack of magic, and shunned by his father who blames him for his mother’s death. Together they will have to stop the Hunter from carrying out his plans.

The Princess and the Snowbird is a companion novel, but I felt it worked fine as a standalone. At just 232 pages this was a very quick read. I did enjoy the story and characters, but it didn’t wow me like I’d hoped. I would have liked to see more development of the characters, and their relationships. Still an entertaining read, and with only mild violence a safe choice for even young teens. ( )