Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this beautiful book.

An artist in need of healing, a woman with a broken heart waiting for her spring... A story of myth and legend in Aurora, Alaska. I'll admit it, I have a soft spot for retellings, but I particularly loved this one... it was a different look at the holidays. Pieces of the history of a frozen land that I didn't know, in soft words that melted my soul.
Totally recommended.

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Una artista que necesita sanar, una mujer con un corazón lastimado en espera de su primavera... Una historia de mitos y leyendas en Aurora, Alaska. Lo admito, tengo debilidad por los retellings, pero este particularmente me encantó... fue un vistazo diferente a los días festivos. Pedazos de la historia de una tierra congelada que no conocía, en palabras suaves que me derritieron el alma.
Totalmente recomendado.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting idea behind this story but it felt distinctly homemade. The writing was quite good and felt folk tale like at times. It was quite white washed however which led to a lack of sympathy and engagement with the MC.
An OK read.

Raven Wakes the World is a charming holiday story which brings to life a traditional Inuit folktale of how the Raven wakes the world every year after winter. Katie Mason is an artist who moved up to northern Alaska to recover from a broken relationship. However, she persists in her isolated melancholy as the winter season continues. When Christmas approaches images and model Ravens appear in town along with traditional decorations. A friendly shopkeeper explains that the raven is central to their Christmas story. Katie soon meets someone who brings her joy and comfort but why is it always winter; why hasn't spring come? The story moves along nicely and the characters are engaging and complex. I enjoyed this book, learning a little about life in Alaska and a new holiday legend. Although the Raven folktale is for all ages, this book is written for adults or older teens.
If you are looking for something interesting to read for the holidays or a thoughtful gift, this is a good choice. I give Raven Wakes the World 5 out of 5 stars.

The preface notes explain that this work originally started out as sort of Christmas gift for friends. Essentially, a short novel written and illustrated by a couple and shared among their immediate community. There's a distinct Hallmark Christmas romance feel to the work that certainly makes it feel seasonal and if you're into love stories that focus on sad women learning to love again, the main story may well appeal (think a wholesome <i>How Stella Got Her Groove Back</i> set in far northern climes). I was, however, made very uncomfortable with the decision to use so many indigenous characters as props for the healing of one, it seems, white woman who has arrived in the "wilderness" to find meaning in her life. There was an ickiness to that approach that, while not exactly cultural appropriation, felt like a misuse of stories and traditions and left a bad taste in my mouth.

What an adorable little book.

First off I’m jealous Kate gets to live in Alaska, it’s a dream of mine. Kate
left sunny California to heal from a broken relationship.

This was such a neat way of explaining spring.

A raven wakes the sun that starts the changing of the season from winter to spring. The raven takes the shapes of different animals, and sometimes a man. The raven also sometimes forgets he is the raven and forgets to wake the sun.

While I have always liked the folktale of the raven bringing light to the world, I did not enjoy this version. Well, the story seemed correct, but I didn't care for the story of the human romance. It took away a great deal of the original beliefs. It did nothing for me and I really wanted to like the story.

Overall, I liked the concept of combining the old story and the modern world, and have always liked ravens. Must be the Poe fan coming out, but also Odin had two as wise companions too. The beginning could have had more details, especially why she left Boston and came to the middle of the wilderness in Alaska by herself. Never quite got the sense of urgency of why she left her old life. Did like Lucas and the shopkeeper too. Would recommend, especially if you like folk tales. Good read.

In a fictional town in Alaska, a fictional artist and sculptor spends her large inheritance and fails to make the creative works she expected of her sojourn, in a piece that tries its best to bring an inflection of the traditional Native Peoples' folklore to a much more mundane setting. Tries, I say, for it doesn't quite work for me. She's not only there to create, but to get over the failure of her previous relationship, which really doesn't sound that great – and we're never told why she should be in such agony over its ending. And that hinders this story, for it is about giving oneself a sort of redemption, but without any reason for her needing it we can't engage as we should. The Native flavour comes mostly with her new man – and yes, one key question about him is in our minds from when he first chaps on her door, and asks for a lift back for his things. It's a brave piece that takes something so inexorably folkloric as he is and puts it in a modern romance story, but again there was a strong sense of it not feeling right – we are told they handily swing from being two single people in remote homes to one unbreakable couple with no cares in the world almost overnight. Also, the key dialogue from him before they make love for the first time seems really poorly written to me.

Still, this is a rich little debut, for all its flaws – it's a new look at the old saw about pain being needed to create art, and it conveys this with respect for the Alaskan Native's mindset and a good look at the character of both her and the place she's in. So it does capture enough to make it worthwhile considering, and the right reader will get to like this for its distinctive flavour. I just found too many awkward beats and authorial decisions getting in the way.