kittymaewrites 's review for:

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

5.0

---

The last half of this book gave me chills. The folk tale style weaves the story between the main character point of view to the other characters. It was done in a seamless way that shockingly didn't bother me. Vasilisa has the Sight and talks to and learns from the household spirits who are invisible to her family but her culture has always given these spirits tribute which sustains them and allows them to guard the household from evil spirits, hunger, and cold. Vasilisa's mother died giving birth to her, and when her father bringing home a new wife because Vasilisa has grown wild and "needs a mother". There is also the Winter King, who has an interest in Vasilisa that isn't clearly explained in this first book of the series. Vasilisa's new step mother (who also has the Sight but believes she is insane for it) hates and torments Vasilisa cruelly through her childhood and as she becomes a young women but as a reader I couldn't truly hate Annie. I only felt sorry for her, and when she is murdered at the end by the "Bear" evil spirit, it is just sad and pathetic. I was in tears at the end when Vasilisa's father sacrifices himself to lock the Bear back away. He had his faults by being a little oblivious, but he did his best to protect his family and his people. And at the end, when the Bear tells him he will spare his family and people if only he sacrifices Vasilisa to him, he refuses and throws himself at the evil spirit instead.