Scan barcode
A review by msbedelia
Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
3.0
3.5 stars. A sweet and charming story that really shines as a quick, child-appropriate introduction to a variety of Slavic folk creatures. Worth noting though that are some very scary moments in terms of main characters being in peril! Not at the hands of those creatures, who are mostly benign, but some young readers may get scared at some of the human violence. I got scared!
The Jewish protag is authentic and charming, but the Judaism in this book won't be for super traditionalists given the high level of magic interwoven with it. I personally loved the domovoy in the kippah but am mindful that not everyone will. Additionally, there's a not-great translation (arguably a mistranslation) of one of the ten commandments that provides a jumping off point for one of the book's major themes, a theme that has a lot of payoff... but that mistranslation is always a particular annoyance for me. Which is to say, (adult) readers who care at that level of detail might struggle more with the specifics on how Judaism is integrated. I would argue that as an addition to Jewish fiction for kids, it's solidly worth it anyway.
Additionally, it was a bit of a slow beginning and took me awhile to get into. It helped once I realized it was both a story and a trip through magical creatures. And the introduction of the, ahem, third child to the group was so charming that it allowed the narrative to really take off!
I'll be reading the sequel and subsequent books from this author because the themes are so near and dear to me.
The Jewish protag is authentic and charming, but the Judaism in this book won't be for super traditionalists given the high level of magic interwoven with it. I personally loved the domovoy in the kippah but am mindful that not everyone will. Additionally, there's a not-great translation (arguably a mistranslation) of one of the ten commandments that provides a jumping off point for one of the book's major themes, a theme that has a lot of payoff... but that mistranslation is always a particular annoyance for me. Which is to say, (adult) readers who care at that level of detail might struggle more with the specifics on how Judaism is integrated. I would argue that as an addition to Jewish fiction for kids, it's solidly worth it anyway.
Additionally, it was a bit of a slow beginning and took me awhile to get into. It helped once I realized it was both a story and a trip through magical creatures. And the introduction of the, ahem, third child to the group was so charming that it allowed the narrative to really take off!
I'll be reading the sequel and subsequent books from this author because the themes are so near and dear to me.