This was so beautifully written. I felt the loss, love, and power that no person or event truly dies as long as their stories are told.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Anchor Books.

I thought this was a very interesting twist on the Baba Yaga tale, and although it was a very slow and confusing start, I stuck with it and really enjoyed it in the end—definitely worth a bit of a slog to get to the good stuff.
I’d recommend to all fantasy readers, and lovers of fairytales.
4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

So good! Love this very much. History and folklore, family lineage, told in the most magical fashion. A new take on an old story, just beautifully done.

Review Copy

Memories are stories and stories must be told - if not people will be forgotten.

THISTLEFOOT is a mesmerizing folktale of the Jewish people of Ukraine around the time of World War One. Thistlefoot is a house that is passed from one generation to another in a quite unexpected way.

Told in the the most compelling voice that I have read in a very long time, I found myself longing for my grandmother's lap and the ability to lose myself in time. This is a novel for everyone to read, no matter your faith or your reading preferences. There are scary sections and uplifting sections and hopefully you, too, will have a new book on your favorites shelf

Loved, loved, loved this book. The conceit that walking houses are not magic, but other things could be, is brilliant. The brother-sister relationship is believable and beautifully fraught, and I loved those siblings with my whole heart. I want more of this, please.

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thistlefoot is mixed with folklore and history. I enjoyed reading the story! Thank you so much for the early copy of Thistlefoot.

What a wonderful retelling of old stories - combining history, folklore, myth and legend, this is an intriguing tale of a brother and sister and their family legacy. The story is beautifully created and suspends reality in the most wonderful way. There are some points where the plot drags, and feel unnecessarily long, however, the sheer determination to know what happens will get you through - and believe me, you will go through much to learn the end result of this struggle!

I loved this strange take on the Baba Yaga tale. It has strong characters and a chicken-legged house called Thistlefoot. I really loved the magical world that this author created. It is a very real and dark tale that I won't forget anytime soon.

This was a great story and a brilliant retelling. I loved the characters and the journey they were on. I hope this author writes much more.

This modern day retelling was absolutely brilliant. The writing was so poignant and conveyed so much emotion to make the reader feel as if they were right there in the story with the rest of the characters. I loved the puppet imagery and found the ending to be bittersweet but realistic. Overall I found this book to be excellent and would recommend it hands down.

Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I am not usuallly a fan of fantasy, but when I read the description I thought . . . WHAT?

It's the combo of Russian folklore, puppetry, and that ridiculous house that brought me to this book, along with GennaRose Nethercott's fine writing. You probably know from other reviews that estranged siblings Bellatine and Isaac Yaga are brought together by the arrival of their "inheritance" from Russia: a giant rustic house on chicken legs which Bellatine calls Thistlefoot. She seeks to understand the house, which lays giant eggs in closets and cupboards, and as a woodworker, she is giving the house the care it has been lacking. She and her conman brother Isaac begin a national tour of their family puppet theater, when they realize that Thistlefoot has brought something dark and dangerous which follows them, leaving mayhem in its path.

Nethercott is a skilled weaver of story-strands and does so in an elegant and involving way. If the story goes on too long, which I think it does, you can peek ahead. Ultimately, this is a surprising novel, weird and wonderful. Check out Thistlefoot's cabinets. You never know what you'll find.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the DRC of this book!

This book is a story of inter-generational trauma, magical realism, and facing yourself as you are, no matter how much you fear it. I definitely teared up multiple times while reading this book. This twist on the legend Baba Yaga was a great choice and honestly, I learned a lot myself about the historical Russian persecution of Jews in between the wars and about the power of stories in keeping memory alive. A fantastic read, with unique characters, the plot weaved throughout time and space effectively without taking anything away from the book as a whole. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC!

If anyone knows me, they know I am a HUGE Baba Yaga fan!! So, of course, when I heard about this book, I had to pick it up. And I'm glad I did! This is the first time I read a book from this author and I am so impressed. GennaRose did a phenomenal job of giving the characters room for their individual voices while simultaneously crafting a world rooted in magic, yet still relatable to us in modern time. I definitely recommend this book to readers who love the classical tales of Baba Yaga, but having them flipped on their heads!

A very intriguing, original fantasy that definitely wasn't like anything I've read before! I thought this was an incredible interpretation of the folktale of Baba Yaga and the writing was strong enough to carry the concept.

I don't know how to feel. I finished this, and my heart has been both destroyed and completed. Every bit of emotion has been dragged out of me, and I feel empty without it. Enchanting, captivating, bewitching. This book was more than I ever wanted, and everything I ever needed.

The cover, the synopsis, it all sells this book short. The synopsis promises a modern-day retelling. What it doesn't promise is a read so atmospheric you feel like part of the story. It doesn't tell you that Thistlefoot will both rip out your heart and complete it. It doesn't tell you that Thistlefoot gives an entire life to an old tale, and a life that makes it even more than it was. I was expecting a captivating read when I picked this one up, but it was so much more than what I hoped for.

And what really brought that about was the writing. It was sharp, it was real. So much emotion is held within these pages. So much heartache, so much history. This book is an ode to memories and history forgotten. It's a book I hope never to forget, and always to reread.

As for the characters, I loved them all. Issac, Bellatine, Winnie, Shona, Rummy, Sparrow. They all had a life to them, and they all spoke to me. The relationship between Isaac and Bellatine was done just as well as them themselves. There was so much nuance and so much pain wrapped up between them. It was a beautiful portrayal of a sibling bond, and I'm not ready to let go of them. (Also, shout out to Winnie for being so adorable. She was a favorite character)

And the ending... how to even approach this. As the story states, it's told like a folktale. And it's beautiful. I had tears in my eyes. It was the perfect bittersweet ending. Sure, I had wanted everyone to be happy, but the way it ended was perfection. Again, realistic and heart-wrenching.

I've been dragging this review out for ages, but there's just so much to say about this one. The last thing I just have to address is the chapters told by Thistlefoot itself. They were my favorite thing about the book. It was all amazing, but those were on a whole new level. Baba Yaga and her children were such loveable characters, and even though they had their edges, their story didn't. It was beautiful, and Thistlefoot captured those feelings so well.

I've ranted on about this one enough, especially because I know I'll be rereading it and adding to this review. If you ever see this on a shelf, do yourself a favor. Pick it up, immerse yourself in the story, and come out a new person. It's a book that grips you with no apologies, and one that speaks to humanity on another level.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

If someone were to ask me to name two elements that would make me instantly want to read a novel, my answer would include Baba Yaga folklore and puppets. So when poet GennaRose Nethercott’s debut novel, Thistlefoot, popped up on NetGalley, I screamed with delight. And look at that gorgeous cover! How could anyone resist?

In Thistlefoot, we follow siblings Bellatine and Isaac Yaga; the former a practical woodworker, the latter a charming hobo with a knack for impressions. The two come into their inheritance, which happens to be a house on chicken legs, one former witchy owner. The Yagas come from a family of puppeteers, and Bellatine and Isaac take their newly-acquired house on tour as a sort of travelling theatre. However, after a chance encounter with a strange man in a bar, it becomes apparent that someone wants to destroy this incredible house, and the Yagas go on the run from evil forces they cannot begin to understand.

I loved this book. What an exciting adventure. I was sucked in right from the start by Isaac and Bellatine. Isaac is a supernaturally talented guy, with some heavy emotional baggage. And Bellatine’s battle to stifle her inherited talents, and desperately appear “normal” in incredibly relatable.

Nethercott’s ability to create such vivid images is beautiful. The Yaga House is a central character in Thistlefoot, and I felt the warm glow of the unconventional abode from the moment it emerged from its shipping container. And all this is complemented by elements of Jewish folklore, and some genuinely heartbreaking moments.

At its heart, Thistlefoot is a story about stories, and about how nothing or no one is ever really forgotten, as long as people share stories. This message is especially poignant right now, when people seem intent on stifling stories that do not align with their “values”.

I loved this book, and I think you will too. Now, who do I speak to about adapting Thistlefoot into a stop-motion animated TV series?

In this folk story retelling you find yourself in a present-day fable that is poignant and lasting. The story of Baba Yaga gains new life with the Yaga siblings. An odd pair, with even odder talents, finds they are squarely met with their ancestral past all wrapped up in a fairly large shipping container. Will this modern fairy tale sweep me off my feet? Let’s find out.

Read if you like: retellings and reimaginings, complicated characters, modern folk tales, stories for the soul, generational tales, darkly whimsical stories.

The Yaga siblings have chosen very different paths for their lives but they are united in straying from both the family business and their particularly untraditional upbringing. It seems that might be the only remaining connection between them until they both receive notice of an unexpected inheritance.

We follow Isaac and Bellatine Yaga, along with Thistlefoot, as their lives are instantly and soon to be irrevocably changed in a dark, epic adventure that spans generations. The pair are contradictory in most things and their perspectives lend different energies to the tale in a way that keep the past and the present relevant.
Thistlefoot, the chicken-legged house, provides a rather interesting perspective straight from its timeless consciousness. With it we learn the historical and mythological origins of the Yaga family while providing both scope and humor. Yes, the chicken house is the brooding, hilarious sidekick.

But before the siblings can begin to truly appreciate their unique acquisition, they realize that something has been tracking the house. Something that leaves ruin in its wake. The Longshadow Man is out to destroy the magical house. Which leaves us wondering what secrets the walls hold and what it will take to uncover them.
I loved this book more than I can say. It’s beautiful. I can say that the cover completely undersells the magnificent work you will find within the words. The story isn’t written; it’s built and you can live in it. I wish I could give it more stars. Thistlefoot deserves to shine.

It is darkly whimsical and all too real at times. No punches are being pulled as violent history becomes clear in its echoes through time and merges with magic that transforms people into manifestations of lost narratives. The undercurrent is swift and pressing. You know something is coming and it isn’t going to be sweet and savory, it will be better. Better because it is truth. And what is more magical than that?

Everyone should read this book. I don’t know if everyone will like it, but you should read it nonetheless. I would be comfortable giving this to a mature teenager with a discerning mind. Who can navigate the frivolous attitude of Isacc with firm understanding that his life while idealistic, is not in fact, ideal. There are some crass moments and language, but it crass in the way that life often is. This book seeks truth in the darkness and may we all feel that Embering as we search.

I’m sitting here, just having finished Thistlefoot, and my head is filled with the beauty of this wonderful book. I’m at a loss for words.

Thistlefoot takes the Russian legend of Baba Yaga, and turns that story into one of Jewish origins. Issac and Bellatine Yaga are siblings who inherit the legendary house of Baba Yaga, the house on chicken legs, from their great great grandmother, who kept the house in storage Ukraine for seventy years and bequeathed it to the youngest Yagas. The siblings grew up in a household that gave puppet shows, and the pair decides to take the house on a tour and recreate the puppet shows they gave in their childhood. Both Isaac and Bellatine have their issues, and as the book progresses, we learn their backstories, and also that of the house and the puppets. They are also pursued by the Longshadow Man, a mysterious figure who followed the house from Ukraine, and who seems bent on the destruction of Yaga’s house, for reasons unknown.

I reveled in the excellence of the writing. There are moments of sheer beauty in the book that just took my breath away. The plot is solid well constructed, and the characters are some of the most finely drawn personalities I’ve ever encountered in a novel. They truly came to life. And the ending…let’s just say it blew me away and left me in tears.

Without a doubt, Thistlefoot is one of the best books I’ve read recently.

My gratitude goes out to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and to Netgalley, for providing me an ARC of this excellent novel.

Thistlefoot is a treat in literature. I love the way that GennaRose Nethercott wove in mythical and historical elements. I learned new things and enjoyed a story in the process.