jelliestars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal death and Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Alcohol, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Child death, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, War, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
misszoe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Injury/injury detail
mmefish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
And to think that it's a debut novel!
Graphic: Blood, Death, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, and Rape
jmcampbell57's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexism
ktkeps's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Injury/injury detail, and Death of parent
lizzy1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, and Sexism
nachtvlucht's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Physical abuse, Injury/injury detail, and Domestic abuse
laurenw's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Child death
nannahnannah's review against another edition
4.0
2. Everyone downrating this book because it doesn't portray Christians in the positive light you Always Think Christians Should Be Portrayed In ... just ... take a breath. Please don't be ignorant. Christians weren't always the heroes, and it's unfair to expect them to be heroes in every single piece of media on Earth. Especially in books SET in periods when Christians completely destroy other religions.
Like in this book, set in a time where Slavic Pagans with one half of their heart worship the old gods and pray to the spirits of the house and forest, and with the other half are Orthodox Christians. Because ""Christianity won"", history often sides with Christianity. This book takes the Pagan side, which is why people get angry. Read with an open mind,
Spoiler
A very, Very, VERY loose retelling of the Slavic/Russian fairy tale, "Vasilisa the Beautiful", this book is very well written, especially for a YA novel. I love the storytelling, old-world style it has, and that fits nicely with the subject!
Ugly Vasilisa's mother dies shortly after she's born. And as she grows, her father, Pyotr, discovers he needs another woman around (""to do some women's work!""). He goes to Moscow on business--and it IS intriguing when the book delves into some good ol' Russian politics--and he brings back a husband for one daughter and a wife for himself. But this wife is like Vasilisa; she can see spirits and demons, like the domovoi who helps protect the house, and the vazila, protector of horses. The difference between stepdaughter and stepmother, though, is that Vasilisa has never found anything threatening about these little spirits, and Anna, the new wife, screams and wails at each one (she was raised Christian).
When a famous monk is sent to protect the house from these demons, this family might lose the protection it needs the coming winter ... because this is the winter an actual Slavic demon has prepared to attack the forest surrounding the house. And all it needs, is someone who can See him.
So interesting setup, but I'm not sure I like the direction the author took the source material in ... There was so much someone could do with Vasilisa the Beautiful ... and instead of writing about Baba Yaga (and come on. it's BABA YAGA!! WRITE ABOUT BABA YAGA) ... she was cut to add a sort-of-romance with Death?? No. Give me Baba Yaga or give me ... wait, no (bad joke, sorry!).
I think this could more be a novel inspired by Vasilisa the Beautiful ... but maybe more so Russian folklore in general (I'm REALLY finicky because I love Slavic/Polish paganism. And while I'm not any expert in Russian folklore specifically, I CAN say this was Very Well researched compared to soooo many other Slavic YA books on the market right now. I won't name names.).
As I said before, the writing is really fitting for a retelling (and the cover, wow!). The beginning and the end are stunning as well, but the middle drags. Unfortunately, it's also by far the largest chunk of the book. For a while I'm not really sure what's happening plot-wise; it's just a bunch of PoV's thrown together, and a lot of the same things keep happening without much moving forward. But stay with it till the end, and you see that lovely ending.
I'll read on ... because maybe, just maybe ... there'll be Baba Yaga ...
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
kappafrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, Death, Blood, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Child abuse, Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, War, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty