The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky will have you flipping the pages as it flips between simple stories and tales of gods and spirits.

The Wolf in the Whale is the story of Omat, a young Inuit shaman living in the Arctic in 1000 AD. Omat was born with the soul of a hunter (specifically that of her father who perished weeks before Omat’s birth), but their gifts go far beyond that. Omat’s grandfather teaches them how to use the spirits of the land, sea, and sky to protect the Inuit people. Omat calls on their own spirit animal, the wolf, for protection, wisdom and guidance.

Throughout Omat’s life, they experience hardship in the form of hunger, identity conflicts, and abuse. And that’s all before their people run into a group of Viking warriors. Then Omat is forced to come to terms with clashing cultures, different gods, and even forbidden love. All while desperately trying to survive and save their people.

The book effortlessly flows between Omat’s first-person narrative, stories and dreams, and tales of the gods, creating a world as stunning and vast as the tundra which Omat calls home.

At first I was confused by the interjections of the stories of the gods, as they definitely stand out from the rest of the story. However, once I got used to them, they quickly became a highlight. We get to hear tales of both the Inuit spirits and the Norse gods in The Wolf in the Whale, and although their stories are very different, they’re equally enthralling.

The stories of the Inuit spirits are beautiful because of how intricately woven they are into the lives and surroundings of the Inuit people. Reading about the day-to-day dealings of Omat’s people gives you the impression that the natural world and the spiritual world are working together for a greater purpose, offering a really different and cool perspective.

Hearing about the Norse gods is intriguing because you’ve probably heard of them before! The tales are of Thor, Odin, Loki, Freya and even the Ragnarok. Fans of the Marvel movies or even just Norse mythology will get some extra enjoyment out of these sections. One of the highlights of these stories is how incredibly well researched they are, which probably stems from Jordanna Max Brodsky’s history and literature degree from Harvard University.

The Wolf in the Whale definitely isn’t a light read. Beyond the dense stories of gods and spirits, the subject matter is often bleak and at times crosses into very dark territory. Omat does not have an easy life. It’s one that’s marred by suffering. That being said, Omat is not a dark or beaten down character. In my opinion, Omat’s dark moments make the bright spots of levity, love and hope all the more powerful.

In The Wolf in the Whale we watch as Omat goes from the carefree optimism and endless possibilities of childhood and witness the lines that come with their aging. Omat has to find their identity in more ways than one. They’re born with a hunter’s soul (which in their culture is a man’s position), but a woman’s body. This leads first to ridicule and only gets more painful as Omat ages and more people join their group, leading to questions about marriage and ancient regulations.

Omat also has to deal with their spiritual identity, and whether their physical body could affect their ability to access the spirits. Imagine going through all of that while trying to feed your people, understand your enemy, fall in love and find your place.

The story crosses oceans, landscapes, and cultures. It deals with death, abuse and trauma. It’s a huge, epic tale of suffering, strength and survival. But at it’s core, it’s simply a tale of self-discovery. And therein lies the magic of The Wolf in the Whale.

The quest to discover oneself is as epic as Omat’s journey in The Wolf in the Whale and to tell it more simply is to omit the important details. Through all the hardship and uncertainty, beauty and triumph, different lands and different gods, we edge ever close to finding ourselves. The journey is never an easy one, with great losses along the way, but every part is necessary.

One of my favorite things about The Wolf in the Whale is how completely different it is from anything I’ve read before. The combination of the simple lives of the people with the grand scale of the gods made for an intriguing story and a fantastic finale. It felt like a story worth telling and it’s definitely one worth reading.

You can get your own copy of The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and of course, your local book store. Also, don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads shelf!