Sarah Porter (1)

This has to be one of the strangest books I've ever read. A retelling of a Baba Yaga story, this version is set in contemporary Brooklyn as the nights stretch longer. Vassa is a young woman who's lost her mother and been abandoned by her father, left to live with a stepmom and two stepsisters. She ends up venturing to the local BY's in part because of an adversarial stepsister and in part due to her own stubbornness. Once there, however, Vassa is trapped and must find a way to free everyone show more trapped by BY's dark magic or else. An interesting read, but not one I can summon much enthusiasm for. show less

In this Baba Yaga retelling, Vassa is caught in a Brooklyn where the nights seem to be stretching longer and longer, and when she has to run an errand to BY's, the only store open 24 hours, she is caught in a bargain with the owner whereby she must work for three nights without going home in between shifts. During her three nights, she must complete impossible tasks -- but she has a few magical helpers. By the third night, it's clear that her quest is not just to survive the three nights, show more but to bring an end to the lengthening nights and the cruel machinations of Babs, the shop's owner.

I am the audience for retold fairy tales, especially Russian ones, but this book didn't work for me. The dialogue was clunky, and the attempt at merging the magical aspects of the book with present-day life just stretched my credulity a little too far. I also wanted Vassa to be able to solve some of her problems herself, but she always had magical help and could not have succeeded without it. There's a whole lot of weirdness in this book, so I can see readers who enjoy a book that continually throws them off-balance liking this, but it wasn't for me. show less

Anyone that thinks of mermaids as gentle sweet creatures will have an awakening experience after reading this book. Dark is an adjective that doesn't even begin to touch on describing it. "Foreboding" and "deliciously creepy" comes very close for us that are dyed in the wool horror fans. The whole idea is that Mermaids are young women who are being given a second chance after being hurt and tortured by human beings. Every girl mermaid Luce meets has her own horror story of how she got show more there...and they are indeed horrible. The things that I thought really mattered to help in understanding this story wasn't explained in this book...but may be explained in the later books... was exactly what are the "Mermaid Rules"...Who make these rules...how are they enforced...and who enforces them. The reader may not want to really learn the answers. This story is an intriguing and unusual play on the mermaid myth and it will leave you wanting to be much nicer to everyone you come in contact with. show less

oh Vasilisa...I mean Vassa Lisa Lowenstein. You poor lost girl. You forgotten child of parents who didn't want you but couldn't allow you to be hurt either.

A fine re-imagining of a Magical Brooklyn where Baba Yaga is a business owner and the night stretches for so long because how can you tally grief?