A toe dip into Russian folklore!
The Great War is still raging, it is 1919 and in Edenfall (Pennsylvania) a young girls father is missing in action – and assumed to be dead. But Vasilisa does not believe that to be the case and what follows is a quest (alongside a new friend, Ivan) to save her mother from marrying an ogre, her grandmother from a curse and to find out what exactly has happened to her father.
I picked up this book because I needed a bit of a palette cleanser, and something aimed at young adult/middle grade age seemed perfect. Not to mention that this story was based upon some of my favourite characters and stories in folklore. I’m no expert however and I was looking forward to perhaps learning more about these tales. This book took me much longer to get through than I had expected it to, and though it is a hearty story with lots of action, there were some issues that made it a bit less enjoyable than I had hoped it would be!
Our protagonist is of course young Vasilisa, a teenager who turns fourteen near the start of the story. She takes care of her mother, and somewhat nominates herself for a quest to save all those she loves and holds dear. The Old Tales she has been told by her Babka (grandmother) spur her on, and give her guidance during her adventure.
The book itself was a difficult one to get into – which surprised me given the intended audience. Whilst I think the content of this book is certainly suitable for middle grade/young adults, the writing style and the pacing of the plot, not to mention the quite information heavy chapters at times – makes this a book that was actually challenging for me to follow, as an adult and a voracious reader!
I found myself, at times, wondering what on earth was going on in this book, only for the information needed to understand to be dropped in later on. It made me feel like I had missed great big chunks of the plot and storyline, and I had to make a decision whether to re-read sections or continue on. I decided on the latter. I don’t want to have to re-read to understand something, I want to re-read because I have loved something so much I just *have* to cast my eyes over it once more.
Having some prior knowledge of Baba Yaga and Vasilisa definitely helped and I do worry about how much more difficult this would have been without it!
There is a big shift part way through this book from gentle, character and story building to a pacy adventure and lots happening. I found this transition a little abrupt, but I was very glad for more to be happening after a slow (but information heavy) start.
That said, the main ‘quest’ is intriguing, packed with action and comes to a resolution that makes sense. The ending for me, felt a little rushed and I do wonder if this is in order to pave the way for the next book in the series.
The other thing that I found a little unsettling was the way in which Vasilisa and Ivan seemed so much older than their years. Given what they have experienced, you might expect some maturity from them and a sense of them having to have grown up too soon perhaps. However, their language, behaviours and thoughts at times seemed like those of someone far older than a teenager. The blossoming romance makes sense, given all they have experienced together, but given their ages, it seemed a little inappropriate. I think this book could have been based on older characters (late teens/early 20’s) and still appealed to a younger audience.
Despite the mismatch between the way the characters think/behave and their ages, the characters themselves are well developed, rich and full of personality. You can just imagine Babka sitting across from you and telling you the Old Tales, you can get a sense of both Vasilisa and Ivan when you experience their inner thoughts and outer behaviours. This story has a message and it has heart, much like most folklore tales. If you allow yourself to reflect and think about the story, you’ll no doubt learn something about yourself and your own approach to life.
Ultimately, this story is one in which love rules over hate. Where compassion and kindness fare much better than anger and violence. These are messages that we can all do with learning, or being reminded of, from time to time.
Title: Vasilisa
Author: Julie Mathison
Genre: Fantasy – Middle grade/Young Adult (with some romance)
Rating: ***/*****
Please note: I was provided with a copy of this book via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. All comments and opinions are my own.
The Cereal Box Reader 