Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This is a great read for fans of Howl's Moving Castle and similar fantasy tales or if you are familiar with the tales of Baba Yaga.

The night is growing longer and with it comes dark magic. Vassa with her magic is drawn into a fight to bring back the day. A dark fairytale.

We purchased this for our library system after I read it. Slow to start, but I really enjoyed the richness of the world building, and I've recommended it to several teens.

this was a really creative, original, and well written retelling of a famous Russian folktale, so my rating reflects my own taste rather than anything negative about the book itself. I really do recommend this if you like kind of dark, abstract, creative retellings!

I'm unable to provide a review at this time. Unfortunately, I DNFed this book in the first 16%. It just didn't grab my attention. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Won't be reviewing as I don't think it's fair considering I didn't read it.

I'm a sucker for fairy tale mash-ups, and this reimagining of the Russian folktale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" is a perfect scratch for that itch. From Erg, the enchanted doll with her smart alek attitude, to "Babs" Yaga, manager of the local convenience store, to the disembodied hands Dexter and Sinister that aid and abet Babs's execution of customers accused of shoplifting, this sassy story is replete with memorable characters. For all intents and purposes, Vassa is an orphan. Her stepmother unwillingly adopted her, her half-sister loathes her, and only her oldest adoptive sister truly loves her. That tangled familial web, along with the motivations that accompany it, are described acerbically by Vassa herself. In a fit of pride, Vassa accepts the jabs of her half-sister and goes to the Be Wise to pick up some light bulbs only to find herself framed for shoplifting by Babs's minions, Dex and Sin. With some fast talking on Vassa's part, Babs agrees to forego the penalty of death in favor of allowing Vassa to work in Be Wise for three nights. Porter's updated rendition of the tale is deliciously reminiscent of some of Neil Gaiman's early adult work. Readers who fell in love with A. G. Howard's "Splintered" series and Danielle Paige's "Dorthy Must Die" series will find themselves equally enamored with this book.

I have read some Baba Yaga stories, ones that I thought were based on the original Russian folktales. Most of these had Baba Yaga as an evil person but with some kindness in her. The main one that comes to mind is Baba Yaga and the Wise Doll by Hiawyn Oram. In this story Baba is so impressed with the child's ability to complete her tasks that she gives her a toad to take home. When she arrives home the toad eats her mean sisters. Still nasty but still somewhat nice. Other modern stories with Baba Yaga have her as a slightly mean but grandmotherly figure who still helps out others when needed, (Sisters Grimm and Egg and Spoon). So I started this story with a slightly skewed vision of Baba Yaga. Apparently in the original folktales (ones that aren't watered down or Disneyfied) Baba is quite nasty and evil, who knew.

I looked up some of the versions that the author recommends reading in her activity guide and I was surprised to find some of the creepier things that happen in this book are from these stories. Such as the disembodied hands. Although these hands kind of grew on me through out the course of the book, especially Dexter, they were still really creepy and nasty.

The version of Baba Yaga in this book, Babs, is a real piece of work, she is truly evil and nasty and doesn't give any thought to cutting off people's heads, or hands for that matter. I'm not sure I really understood what she was trying to accomplish with her store and with the motorcycle guy, but not understanding didn't take away from the story.

Vassa, the main character and narrator of this story, was someone I struggled with. At times I really liked her, but then she would make a decision that was just plain wrong and I wanted to slap her. She was also a little bit wimpy and whiney at times. By the end of the story I did come to appreciate her and admire her perseverance in the face of such a struggle. I really liked her relationship with Erg, her wise doll. Erg was really irritating at times, but by the end you understood why and do forgive her for it.

There are some other minor characters that I liked, such as the motorcycle/Night person. He was an interesting character, but I don't want to spoil the story by saying too much about him. I felt sympathetic towards him and his plight but frustrated that he couldn't help Vassa more. I also like Tomin, although we don't see him much, he always shows up at the right times and offers help and encouragement to Vassa when she really needs it.

The setting was awesome. I liked that the BY store was Baba Yaga's house with the chicken feet and needing to sing to it so you could get in. I also liked that it was set in NY. Even though most of the action in the story takes place in the store and parking lot, NY was always there in the background.

Overall this book is good, I liked it but it was really weird. There were times when I had to get my right brain to beat my left brain into submission so that I could read.

Left brain: This book is so weird and doesn't make sense!! Stop reading it!!!

Right Brain: Shut up! It's ok. Look it is getting better, just go with it!

There really were a couple of times that I almost put the book down and thought about not finishing it, but I'm glad I didn't. It was very beautifully written also, the descriptions and dialogue were amazing at times. It has a very satisfying ending and that made it easier to overlook the weirdness.

Sorry, requested but did not find the time to review.

I loved this atmospheric, creepy book with every bone in my body. I purchased it for our library's shelves the day it came out, and while it's been a little harder to get teens into it, I've recommended it to some teens (and adults!) who have loved it.

This was an interesting book. I would recommend it to fans of off the beaten path stuff.

I love fairy and folk tales.... Loved this title I got at Book Expo in Chicago.
Vassa was dark, twisted, and not afraid of violence. Great main character faced with dark choices. Loved resolution too.