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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Here, there's only today. No yesterday and no tomorrow. You may stay a year and be home just after you left. It does not matter how long you slept."
I loved this book a lot for it had some folklore stories from Russia. The names, the life, the house, the surroundings, the forest,the cold and everything in this book was interesting.
The writing though was a bit weak or complicated! I don't know how to explain it but moving from one event to another had a big shift, the sequences of events didn't seem connected! Sometimes I felt lost.
It's the story of Vasya, who can see things her family cannot see and she's the only one who can save her family and her village from the Bear who is awakening and will get his strength from fear.
Will she be able to save them? And who is going to help her?
The adventure of Vasya is very lovely and enchanting.
I loved this book a lot for it had some folklore stories from Russia. The names, the life, the house, the surroundings, the forest,the cold and everything in this book was interesting.
The writing though was a bit weak or complicated! I don't know how to explain it but moving from one event to another had a big shift, the sequences of events didn't seem connected! Sometimes I felt lost.
It's the story of Vasya, who can see things her family cannot see and she's the only one who can save her family and her village from the Bear who is awakening and will get his strength from fear.
Will she be able to save them? And who is going to help her?
The adventure of Vasya is very lovely and enchanting.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Likes: vocabulary/ language, Russian historical fiction/mythology/lore
The feeling of this book, coziness with an anxious edge, reflects its setting of a northern Russian boyar's home at the edge of the wintry woods. The prose is strong and richly imagined, breathing life into the harsh setting and adding a romantic new spin to Slavic mythology (I seem to be on a bit of a kick lately!). This isn't like a typical YA novel--I'd almost say the storytelling is more like that of a fairy-tale, and even A Song of Ice and Fire came to mind, since the narration jumps from head to head as needed, providing a more zoomed-out view of Vasya's family, the village she wants to protect, and the way she is perceived by the others.
The plot is also atypical. It's not grand and sweeping, but rather simple, blending the fairy-tale-esque story of keeping the monsters at bay with the more historically grounded exploration of the clash between organized religion and pagan traditions. I love how nuanced the story is; although Arden at times paints a scathing picture of Christianity, she softens it by also showing how important it is to people when confronted with things they don't understand and forces beyond their control. There's a supernatural villain in the story, but he plays a very minor role compared to the two main antagonists: Vasya's stepmother and the charismatic priest. Both characters are complex, and downright pitiable at times, even when they're deplorable. It's very clear this story, even with its rusalkas and upiors and talking horses, is chiefly concerned with real people making the decisions they think are best based on the unforgiving conditions and often stifling culture in which they live.
This book is very sweet, even when it's heartbreaking, and I love Vasya's magnetic, fiery spirit that acts as the story's lifeblood.
The plot is also atypical. It's not grand and sweeping, but rather simple, blending the fairy-tale-esque story of keeping the monsters at bay with the more historically grounded exploration of the clash between organized religion and pagan traditions. I love how nuanced the story is; although Arden at times paints a scathing picture of Christianity, she softens it by also showing how important it is to people when confronted with things they don't understand and forces beyond their control. There's a supernatural villain in the story, but he plays a very minor role compared to the two main antagonists: Vasya's stepmother and the charismatic priest. Both characters are complex, and downright pitiable at times, even when they're deplorable. It's very clear this story, even with its rusalkas and upiors and talking horses, is chiefly concerned with real people making the decisions they think are best based on the unforgiving conditions and often stifling culture in which they live.
This book is very sweet, even when it's heartbreaking, and I love Vasya's magnetic, fiery spirit that acts as the story's lifeblood.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced