When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald
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When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald

Contemporary fiction

When We Were Vikings

Debut

by Andrew David MacDonald

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Quick take

Your modern-day Viking is a woman with fetal alcohol syndrome using her strict code to create the stuff of legends.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Emotional

    Emotional

  • Illustrated icon, Quirky

    Quirky

  • Illustrated icon, Millenial

    Millennial

  • Illustrated icon, Quest

    Quest

Synopsis

Sometimes life isn’t as simple as heroes and villains.

For Zelda, a twenty-one-year-old Viking enthusiast who lives with her older brother, Gert, life is best lived with some basic rules:

1. A smile means “thank you for doing something small that I liked.”

2. Fist bumps and dabs = respect.

3. Strange people are not appreciated in her home.

4. Tomatoes must go in the middle of the sandwich and not get the bread wet.

5. Sometimes the most important things don’t fit on lists.

But when Zelda finds out that Gert has resorted to some questionable—and dangerous—methods to make enough money to keep them afloat, Zelda decides to launch her own quest. Her mission: to be legendary. It isn’t long before Zelda finds herself in a battle that tests the reach of her heroism, her love for her brother, and the depth of her Viking strength.

Content warning

This book contains some sexual violence.

Read a sample

Get an early look from the first pages of When We Were Vikings.

When We Were Vikings

Chapter One

The Viking my brother got me for my birthday was tall and had muscles. Even if you were not an expert on Vikings and had not read Kepple’s Guide to the Vikings, you would say, that is a Viking. He looked like he could defeat hordes of villains and commit acts of bravery, like Beowulf, the most famous Viking, who defeated Grendel, who was not only a regular villain but also a monster.

But since I am an expert, I noticed many incorrect things. For example, the Viking’s sword wasn’t made of real metal, and his outfit was plastic instead of brynja, which is an armor made of rings to protect warriors from being cut with swords. His blond hair was not really blond. I could see that it had actually been colored.

After seeing the Viking, I chose a new Word of Today. The word ended up being gargantuan, a way of saying something, or someone, is amazingly large. It was a word that I had written on my list, with the help of my best friend, AK47, and since I remembered the definition, and since the Viking and the word went together, I decided I would put my other Word of Today (eloquent) away and make gargantuan the new Word of Today.

The Viking boomed through the door of our apartment, past Gert,and stood holding his sword. The first thing he said was: “WHERE IS ZELDA?”

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View all
Wild Dark Shore
The Last Love Note
What Does It Feel Like?
Jane and Dan at the End of the World
Anita de Monte Laughs Last
More or Less Maddy
The Wedding People
Next to Heaven
Home of the American Circus
A Family Matter
Penitence
The Names
The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits
The Favorites
The Summer We Ran
Honey
We All Live Here
The Leftover Woman
My Friends
The River Is Waiting
Water Baby
The Same Bright Stars
The Three Lives of Cate Kay
What Happened to the McCrays?
Bye, Baby
Swan Song
The Days I Loved You Most
The Connellys of County Down
Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life
Jackpot Summer
I Might Be in Trouble
Again and Again
Evil Eye
Black Cake
Maame
Romantic Comedy
We Are the Brennans
The Bad Muslim Discount
What Comes After
Olga Dies Dreaming
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel
Monster in the Middle
Nine Perfect Strangers
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes
Honey Girl
In Every Mirror She's Black
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?
Sankofa
The Unsinkable Greta James
The Love of My Life
The Five-Star Weekend
The Wishing Game
Behold the Dreamers
The Mothers
The Music Shop
The Reckless Oath We Made
When We Were Vikings
The Girl with the Louding Voice
Big Summer
All Adults Here
Happy & You Know It
Friends and Strangers
The Comeback
True Story
The Last Story of Mina Lee
White Ivy
This Close to Okay
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The Prophets
In a Book Club Far Away
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Apples Never Fall
A Quiet Life
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The Most Likely Club
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