Award-winning Indie author Julie Mathison brings to life the primordial forest of a Russia marooned in legend, cradled in song...
Vasilisa has listened to the Old Tales all her life, like every, good Russian child - even one born in Edenfall, Pennsylvania, far from the rugged steppes of her ancestors. The tales keep her mind off her troubles, what with Papka presumed dead on the fields of Flanders and Mama being courted by an absolute ogre. Even her grandmother, dear Babka, is acting strange.
Then come the dreams, and Vasilisa is drawn inexorably into a world she once thought fabled - a snow-laden forest, rife with wolves and bears and creatures meant only for child's tales. Leshy the sprite, green-limbed and acid-tongued. Old Koschei, butcher of hearts. And the witch, Baba Yaga, ruling the border to the thrice-tenth kingdom where souls wander, caught between life and death.
Only Ivan seems to understand. Orphaned, riding the rails in search of revenge, he shows up on Vasilisa's doorstep with nothing to offer but a burgeoning love he is desperate to deny. What can he give her but a heart broken by treachery, blackened by hate?
Together, they are destined to cross the threshold between the worlds, retracing the steps of their forebears, back to Old Rus where the secret to Babka's cure, and Ivan's revenge, lies hidden in the mists of the thrice-tenth kingdom. Baba Yaga and her sisters hold the key, but it will take more than courage, luck, and a head for riddles if Vasilisa and Ivan are to survive the trials set for them, let alone secure their hearts' desires.
Only love can show the way, but that may prove to be the greatest test of all.
Semi Finalist
Assessment:
Plot: Thirteen-year-old Vasilisa Petrovna Nikolayeva does not believe in fairy tales. Yet. This is a remarkable novel with folktales interwoven seamlessly with the tribulations of a junior high school age girl finding a place in a not always accommodating world. In addition, it is rich in history, relating much information about early twentieth-century Russia and the Bolshevik Revolution with which American readers are not likely to be familiar. And, as appropriate in any hero’s quest, there are mysteries to solve, questions to be answered and tasks to be accomplished, all in a universe where the real and fantastical merge effortlessly.
Prose/Style: Here is to be found finely-crafted prose of a grace and precision not often found in young adult novels. The vocabulary and syntax are perfectly suited to middle school/junior high school reader, and the names of the characters are wonderfully inventive and authentic.
Originality: The combination of Russian folk tales, fantasy (including a few witches and an ogre), history, and a coming-of-age story is unique. Julie Mathison has written a story that has meaning on many levels and is therefore a compelling read.
Character Development/Execution: Mathison’s depiction of the young teenagers here indicates careful observation and deep sympathy with the personal and social challenges girls face in early adolescence. Babka is portrayed as a wise and sympathetic older woman without relying on the typical trappings of a “fairy godmother.”
Blurb: A stellar YA novel full of adventure, history, fantasy and a careful observation and deep sympathy with the personal and social challenges girls face in early adolescence.
Date Submitted: July 26, 2021
In this middle-grade fantasy/historical novel, a Russian American girl journeys into folklore to confront witches and save her family.
Vasilisa Petrovna Nikolayeva and her Babka (grandmother) were both named for Vasilisa the Brave, the Russian fairy-tale hero who overcomes Baba Yaga, a fearsome witch. Now 13 years old, Vasilisa still loves to hear her mother and grandmother tell the stories, which link their present-day lives in the 1919 steel town of Edenfall, Pennsylvania, to their homeland. The three cling even closer because Vasilisa’s Papa has been missing since fighting in the trenches near Flanders, presumed dead. The family’s financial difficulties have been lessened by the frightening Mr. Goladyen, also a Russian immigrant, who is pressuring Vasilisa’s mother to marry him. Further, Vasilisa suspects he has something to do with her once-hale grandmother’s sudden decline into confusion and weakness. Meanwhile, Ivan Ivanovich Volkonsky arrives in Edenfall, having promised his dying father to help the elder Vasilisa. Discovering that Mr. Goladyen was his father’s betrayer, Ivan vows revenge. To set things right, young Vasilisa and Ivan must go on a quest to legendary Old Rus, face three Baba Yaga witches, and find an ogre’s egg. In this series opener, Mathison offers two intriguing settings from history and myth, both with their own spooky mysteries, hardships, helpers, and villains. While the Edenfall scenes are well drawn, the storytelling becomes truly compelling in Old Rus, as myth comes vividly to life. The latter setting also better fits the book’s literary, Old World phrasing used throughout (such as, “Always was my daughter thus”), which feels jarring against Edenfall’s slangy American voices (“What a whopper”). Though usually a graceful writer, the author overuses quirk as a transitive verb.
A story that richly integrates a fairy tale, history, and a coming-of-age quest.
