Finding Baba Yaga: A Short Novel in Verse by Jane YolenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
On the whole I rather like Jane Yolens work even if the writing could use a bit more attention to detail. I liked this as well but with some caveats. First it was way too short. The story could have been fleshed out more with a few more plot twists added to make the story more exciting. The story is also lacking details and not very descriptive. It needs more of this. I am not a big fan of telling stories or tales thorough poetic verse I much prefer the narrative approach.
This tale of Baba Yaga has been reworked from the Russian fairy tale thus bringing it into modern times. Natasha is a girl that lives in what could be a household marred with arguments and fighting. Her father forbids her to use profanity and washed her mouth out with soap every time she used profanity. In a moment of tearful desperation she decides to run away. Alone in an unnamed city she roams the streets for seven days . Hungry, dirty and alone it is no fun being homeless. So she wanders into a forest and comes upon Baba Yaga’s house.
Now Baba Yaga is an old crone from Russian faery tales. An old woman with an Iron nose and teeth she gets around on a flying pestle. Her favorite dish is children who wander in her domain . Usually it is bad kids that get eaten up. At Baba Yagas she meets Vasilia who falls in love with a princes and she meets Kotschai the deathless. Baby Yaga has a hut that is armed with a modern kitchen and a microwave . In the end Natasha’s destiny is revealed.
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