I was so intrigued and ready to devour this book but unfortunately, I was just not able to get into the characters or story enough to completely finish the title. Based on other reviews and friends who have read this book and loved it, this is a case of "it's not the book, it's me."

Thank you to GennaRose Nethercott, Anchor Books, and NetGalley for an advanced eBook in exchange for my honest review.

This is a wonderful story of Baba Yaga and her descendants we are following Isaac and Bellatine as they uncover more about their past and the abilities that they seem to have. The back and forth between the present and the past, paired with the changing view points did not muddle the story and were very distinguished so the reader wouldn't get confused. The mystery and main antagonist of the story, the Longshadow Man follows the twins as they try to revive their family's traveling theater show and leaves nothing but destruction in his wake. This is a wonderful twist on a classic Jewish myth and I loved reading every page.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book, and thanks to GennaRose Nethercott for writing it. I find it hard to believe it’s a debut novel and can’t imagine how anything that comes later can compare to this. It’s truly an incredible story, at turns, reminding me of Clive Barker’s Weaveworld and Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. It’s a folktale, a fantasy, a horror story, and a thought-provoking commentary on human nature, the stories we tell, and the persistence of multi-generational trauma.

I wish I could quote the book in this review, but I’ve been asked not to because it’s an uncorrected proof. Instead, I will paraphrase the parts that stood out to me and my words will pale in comparison to Nethercott’s.

The book starts off with a description of KALI TRAGUS, Russian thistle, known in the U.S. as tumbleweed. What a powerful way to hook a reader, by describing something that seems so innocuous, yet ends up so integral to the story. Traveling with some early immigrants, Russian thistle took up residence here and seeds this story. Isaac and Bellatine Yaga are ancestors of one such immigrant, and thus, their story is the flower of this seed. On the outside, they’re prickly and best left alone because coming too close can cause injury, but this is only because they were conceived through adversity and violence—memories that don’t live in their minds, but in the very atoms of their beings. They carry the scars of those who existed long before they were birthed.

Issac has a special skill described as a “mirror,” his ability to mimic people uncanny and unnerving. The description of how he observes and replicates every aspect of his subjects is thorough and vivid, and frankly, creepy. Sometimes, the original subject can appear as the secondary version of themself, while Isaac seems to be the genuine article. Imagine how jarring it would be to observe your image in the mirror and wonder if it’s your reflection or you are its. Isaac is driven by a compulsion to never remain in one place for long. Something in his family’s long-ago past drives him.

Then, we’re introduced to Bellatine and told that if anything ever happened to her hands, this story would not exist. It’s heavy foreshadowing, but to what, we have not a clue. She has inherited a strange “gift” that she abhors and tries to hide because her mother made her feel shame about it. Each time she allows it free reign, she feels rejuvenated and looks healthier than before—a sure sign that it’s of benefit to her (even if she can’t see it), once she learns to use it.

The two are estranged, due to Isaac’s inability to remain in one place, but are thrown together when they receive notice of a shared inheritance from a relative in Russia who died many years ago. Hoping for something valuable, they are surprised to open the crate addressed to them to find a small cottage with chicken legs. The origin and nature of the house are a mystery.

This is when the nature of the world in which they reside takes on a unique phantasmic twist that is so unlike the one in which we live. They’re not surprised to find a house on chicken legs, but rather, confused about why it was left to them. As the youngest current descendants of the previous owner, they are bequeathed this treasure which lay in storage for 70 years. The reader then learns of other examples of homes or buildings which have sprouted eyes or mouths or wings—whatever would have protected them from a recent disaster. For example, a janitor was killed when a steam pipe burst in a mall. In response, the stores developed mouths that occasionally opened to emit steam. The mystery is: why did this house sprout chicken feet?

There is a description in this book that was so masterfully done, it pains me to mess with the original words. It describes a series of events, beginning with the current one, a phone call, and tracing it back to its origins, an ocean away, before returning to the present and tracing the actions that follow the call.

Another time, Bellatine observes something about her brother Isaac. People see him as charming and easy to befriend, with a mythic reputation, but there’s a toxic edge to him. When he talks to people, Bellatine imagines him as neither friendly nor honorable, but rather, more like a cat toying with its prey before killing it. Feeling on edge, probably because he has stayed in one place for too long, Isaac decides to walk into town to hit a local bar, assume a different persona, and fleece some customers. As he walks in the chill October air of Vermont, he feels the air is “tight as a seam,” imagining he need only tug firmly and the entire night would “unzip” to reveal some “Otherworld.” His little, black cat, Hubcap, travels with him, and he acknowledges to himself that Hubcap is his anchor. Many travelers take some kind of memento to tie themselves to their former identity. Isaac, on the other hand, left home with nothing, and somewhere along the way, Hubcap became his talisman to draw him back into himself when he strays too far.

The narrator cautions us that facts are limited because there are only so many facts in the universe. Conversely, there are an unlimited number of lies. Every storyteller twists reality, or lies, to reveal an esoteric and more compelling truth. And this particular story is all about storytelling and our ability to discern truth from lies, and reality from the imaginary. This is part of what makes it a folktale. There’s a kernel of reality hidden within a fantastical story. The narrator goes on to explain that memories can be forgotten, but folktales never can because they find their way into hearts and are retold as stories. And people love stories. Later, we’re told that answers are also finite, while questions are neverending. We can always come up with more of them. Questions hold potential. Answers are the end of the road; there’s nothing left to discover. Nethercott’s words are way better than mine.

The narrator questions the common understanding of ghosts, ultimately explaining that people do not leave ghosts behind, but events do. They push the past into the present until they force it to collide. This is the story of one such tragic event being compelled to crash into the present, making it impossible for the main characters to deny the event that birthed current events. You can never take a step without walking through a ghost. Places hold onto the memories of what transpired and adapt accordingly. This world is haunted. Stories help us to make sense of it all.

Isaac has spent the past few years riding the rails and hitchhiking. He’s observed that drivers will share secrets they won’t share with friends. Friends stick around to remind you when you’ve shared a secret. Strangers take those secrets with them so you can let them go.

So, there’s a bit of current event analysis thrown in here, and I love that kind of thing. We are cautioned against the monsters who cultivate mobs by using fear as bait. When someone tries to tap into your fear, they’re really just seeking power. It could be power over you, but eventually, it’s more expansive than that, looking to control everyone. Soldiers are an extension of these people. Their uniforms don’t actually matter. They’re all the same, aroused by power. “Their bayonets jut out like angry erections eager to spring from their barrels.” Oops, I quoted the author. It couldn’t be helped. I just couldn’t think of a better way to state this.

When Thistlefoot eventually decides to divulge the history of the house and the Yaga family to the reader, the voice used is present tense, occasionally using the word “today” to emphasize the ongoing nature of the past. This pulls the reader deeper into the story and makes them feel as if they are experiencing it along with the characters. In addition, it more closely ties the past to the present, explaining the trauma that has been passed down and is now experienced by Isaac and Bellatine. We’re reminded that the year is 1919, not very long ago. It’s a cautionary tale. Not only should we make ourselves impervious to those who would use our fears to gain power, but we also must remember that history is not in the past; it follows us into the present and future. Because there is no end to this story—pain does not have a beginning, middle, or end. And according to Thistlefoot, the pain is so brutal and so horrific that God doesn’t want to see it, so he closes his eyes. We, on the other hand, must keep our eyes open, especially when this story is about a village destroyed because of the hatred of Jews. Anti-semitism seems to rear its ugly head again and again throughout history. We cannot close our eyes or pretend amnesia, lest it happen again.

Apologies, but I see no way to avoid quoting: “What is a house but a container for a life? What is a life but a container for a story? When a container is broken, it does not destroy the contents. It sets them free.” I also loved this: “What happens when the walls we raise outlive the dangers they were built to keep out? At what point does a fort become a cage?” There were so many other profound or funny statements sprinkled through this book, I’ll have to content myself with highlighting them for myself. I’ll enjoy reading this story again, and I’ll tell everyone I know this is one they won’t want to miss. I hope it doesn’t change one bit from the uncorrected proof I had the pleasure of reading. It’s perfect as-is.

Thistlefoot is an amazing take on the Baba Yaga stories, pulling the Eastern European folklore into the modern US. The living house provides a sense of home and safety but also introduces a dangerous new enemy into the lives of the brother and sister Bellatine and Isaac, and upends their plans to put on a traveling show reprising one of their parents' most famous puppet stories.

Multiple viewpoints woven together make for a rich story that pulls the reader in and keeps them reading, hungry to see what happens next.

<i>“I’ll tell you what came before. I’ll recite it like a folktale. These sorts of memories, they’re easier to understand that way. A memory, a true memory, is harsh and full of sharp edges. The facts, they don’t always make sense in the ways that we might wish. Things happen that we cannot speak of aloud. These rememberings are prickly like blackberry briar in winter, with no leaves to soften them. And the very worst thing about memory, the deadliest, most brutal part: memory can be forgotten. But a folktale—a folktale can never be forgotten because it wriggles and rearranges until it sits neatly on the heart. It is fluid and changing, able to adapt to whatever setting it finds itself in. It shifts in the mouth of every teller and adapts to the shape of each listener’s ear…So, the folktale survives. Assimilates. And with it—so survives the memory.” </i>

I almost stopped reading on like page 35, that’s how much I hated Isaac. And I had so many complaints in the beginning: 1) Unnecessary passive voice that made the book feel over-long. 2) Overwritten similes/metaphors/etc, i.e.: “Her hands became a famine, hot with want.” 3) Not sure about some of the POC characters —Shona’s dialogue was laughably bad.

Despite all of this, I fell in love. I never wanted this book to end. I cried. It was amazing.

Thistlefoot was interesting. I loved the Jewish and Russian folklore woven into American history. I usually love any book that retells Baba Yaga but the premise misled me since its just about her descendants. While I thought Nethercott wrote well, her descriptiveness and turn of phrase poetic. However, the plot felt meandering and much of the book dragged as a result. The magic system was never adequately described either so much of the fantastical worldbuilding was hard to buy into.

This was an interesting and fanstastical tale. I really enjoyed the narrative and theme of this book - that despite people and things perishing, they can live through passing stories along and those stories can change depending on the storyteller and the audience. My only gripe with the book was that it was a little bit too long.

Thistlefoot begins by piquing your curiosity and then sends you running down the road in a modern day fairy tale that makes you wish every word could be true. A lot dark, a bit scary, and a lot of fun you'll wish you could make friends with the Yaga siblings who aren't too sure they're even friends themselves.

Wow. Well, this is the only book I've sobbed in my car while listening to it on my way to work. What a way to start a morning that was.

I've been looking forward to reading this book for a while in my quest to read Jewish fantasies. This one was different from what I expected, but still enjoyable, especially the ending. I overall enjoyed the book though the pacing in the middle slowed it down a lot, and I can see people not finishing it before getting to that fantastic ending.

The main characters each had their own quirks and issues and had one of my least favorite things: miscommunication. So many misunderstandings would have been solved if they had just talked to each other. As an estranged family with generational trauma, this seemed pretty realistic, but it was still frustrating. The side characters were diverse and interesting, and I would love to see their adventures after the book ends. The main antagonist was extremely intimating, and I dreaded anytime he appeared. I actually loved the folktale elements between some chapters.

Now if you are an Ashkenazi Jew, there is an extremely hard-to-read/listen-to description of past trauma that hits you right in your soul. This may lead to you feeling the past hurts now in the present. This trauma leads to an ending that ties up why there is magic and how it links to the character's quirks, the plot itself, and how the past can cause pain in the present. If this book had a better-paced middle, I would happily give it 5 stars, but the bad pacing brought it down for me.

DNF at 30%

I will have to try reading Thistlefoot at another time. I was really struggling to get into it, even though I really liked the premise and truly wanted to enjoy it.

I enjoyed reading this modern folktale of the Baba Yaga story. Having known little of the original tale, this book has sparked my interest. The Yaga siblings kept me interested and the story moved along nicely. I loved the message about keeping history alive by "witnessing" it and telling the tale. While bits within the story may change from telling to telling, the truth of the thing remains.

(4.5 stars)

Thistlefoot is a hard novel to put into one genre. It’s magical realism, a retelling/reimagining, family saga, and more. If you’re at all familiar with the Baba Yaga legends, you’ll recognize them in this book. If not, you may find yourself going down a bit of a rabbit hole doing some online research about Baba Yaga (which is what I did, even though I was basically familiar with the theme).

Isaac and Bellatine Yaga are siblings and are direct descendants from Baba Yaga via their mother’s side of the family. Their parents were/are puppeteers. They haven’t seen each other in a number of years when they both get urgent messages that say they must show up in New York City to claim an inheritance that has been shipped from what is now Ukraine. That inheritance turns out to be Thistlefoot, the cottage/house on chicken legs, made famous in the Baba Yaga tales and pictured on the cover of this book. Both Isaac and Bellatine have unusual powers that they have either been taking advantage of (Isaac) or resisting (Bellatine). This house has been stored for over 70 years and is gifted to the two young siblings by their great-great-grandmother. The house responds only to commands in Yiddish, which delighted me, as Baba Yaga isn’t always Jewish in stories; mainly she’s a topic of Russian/East European folktales. Unfortunately, a shadowy figure is after the house! And that’s the rest of the story.

Thistlefoot, while an adventure story of sorts, covers a lot of topics along the way. Among them are sibling relationships and intergenerational trauma. A unique feature is that a few of the chapters are narrated by the house itself.

Some quotes that resonated with me:
“How do you ruin a people? Is it with fire? Is it with bullets? … But all it takes is one survivor, and the story lives on. One survivor to carry the poems and the songs, the prayers, the sorrows. It isn’t just taking a life that destroys a people. It’s taking their history… Kill the story, and you kill the culture.”

“If a story does its job, it doesn’t ever end. Not really. But it can change. This is the nature of folktales. They shift to fit each teller… It can become an offering. A lantern. An ember to lead you through the dark.”

Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Anchor Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, even though I’m rather late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, January LaVoy, did a good job with the various voices and accents.

THIS BOOK WAS SO FUN! I mean, look at that cover? Did you read that premise? How could this not be a success? I loved the wild idea of this book, and the way that it was steeped in folklore. There is some great representation in this book and an even greater story. I loved it and will absolutely recommend it!

Thistlefoot is a unique and beautifully written Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged house retelling inspired by Jewish myths that follow estranged siblings, Baba Yaga’s descendants, Bellatine Yaga and Issac Yaga, who inherits the chicken-legged house of Baba Yaga after 70 yrs of her death. They name it Thistlefoot.

Bellatine is a carpenter, wishes to have a normal life and settle with the house but ever the wonderer Issac doesn’t and asks her to buy him out and for that they come to an agreement, they revive and tour their family’s famous puppet show, The Drowning Fool, for a year throughout America, Issac gets to keep the money and Bellatine the house at the end of the year but it wasn’t only Thistlefoot that came from Russia to American. A sinister villain, Longshadow Man followed the house to America unleashing poison and violence among people with the intention of killing the house. It was interesting to find out who is the Longshadow man and how he is connected to the house and Baba Yaga.

+I loved the plot and concept. There is the theme of multigenerational and familial trauma, power of stories and memories, painful cruel history of pogrom, emotional reckoning gives lots of depth to plot making it poignant and thought-provoking.

+/-Writing it beautiful, flowery, and poetic to a point that you wish to get lost in the purple prose. The narrative is unique. Present timeline is third person narrative from Issac and Bellatine’s perspective but the past of the house and of Baba Yaga was told by Thistlefoot through stories that make it a stories within story. Thistlefoot tells the story of its origin in different versions along with how it met Baba Yaga, what is his and Baba Yaga’s history, and what make it alive. There is also The Fool’s story, the show they play, how the Fool originated. While I loved the writing and unique narrative style, I could see it might not be for everyone and why some readers DNFed it. Moreover, the pace is slow and stories within story sometimes make it confusing and hard to get how they interconnect with each other.

+The setting of New Orlean and other places Issac and Bellatine visit for the puppet show tour is well written but what makes this retelling different is Baba Yaga’s connection to the plight of Jews through historical setting of pre-WWI Gendenkrovka, now known as Ukraine, a hometown of Baba Yaga and how this small town was destroyed in Pogrom.

The characters’ personal stories were well written. Bellatin is a responsible person, living an honest life. She sees her gift of being able to give life to animate things with memory and story as a curse because of how her parents viewed and treated it. The only person who didn’t care about her gift or never made it big deal was Issac and when he left her and their parents’ house without any note or goodbye, it was hard for her to deal with her gift and abandonment issues. I didn’t exactly get why she feels her gifts are curse until it was revealed what more she could do with her gift and what she experienced. It was great to see how she overcome the fear of her hands and her gift and started to see it in a positive light.

Issac is an actor, doppelganger, and thief who could shift into any person’s face and body and he made it a means to earn by hosting shows in streets that gave him the name, Cameleon King. He is selfish, manipulative, and coward which makes him unlikable but he is hiding a lot behind his uncaring personality that also makes him interesting. He is an amazing observer, he follows his gut feeling and he knows how to get out of situations and turn them in his favor. He is also hiding the pain of loss and is drowning in guilt. It was interesting to see why he felt responsible for the death of his best friend and how he could finally deal with the loss.

-Both characters are complicated. While I liked reading both siblings’ childhood, their fear and struggle, their gifts, how they see it and how it changed their life… I feel there still isn’t much depth. There is lots of judgment and assumptions from Baellatin’s side and I don’t think from her perspective and looking at Issac’s nature, she was very wrong in it but what makes me annoyed is they don’t talk to each other. They understand each other throughout the book by observing each other’s reactions. Looking at the amount of time they spent together, half the time of it was about getting over the abandonment from Bellatine’s side and getting the house ready for the show and Issac shape-shifting to avoid his migraine. Their lack of conversations made me care less about them. I cannot decide who I liked most as their actions kept changing my opinions about them. It wouldn’t be wrong if I say both stayed estranged throughout the book.

– Secondary characters are good but we don’t get to know them well. Shona’s story was told in less than a page while we don’t get more than few lines for Rummy and Sparrow.
+ I liked Winnie and Thistlefoot the most. The objects given life were much more filled with life and wisdom than the humans of the story!

+The Longshadow man creates lots of suspense and make the story creepy and atmospheric. It was clear he was connected with Progom but how he connected to Baba Yaga or the house was hard to guess until it was revealed. Baba Yaga’s magic was also different from other retellings I have read.

+ Climax and the end is perfect. All questions were answered. I wasn’t expecting what Issac did and what happened to him and for a minute I couldn’t get the purpose of the whole event but it made much more sense later when the fool told the final version of Thistlefoot story which made it even more uncertain and hard to defeat the Longshadow man. It was amazing how Issac used his experience of the happening in defeating The Longshadow man. I liked the end and loved how all the events happening in this last few pages changed Issac and Bellatine.

Overall, Thistlefoot is intriguing and beautifully written Baba Yaga retelling with Slavic and Jewish folklore but the characters and confusing narration style make it okay for me.

3.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eBook in exchange for an honest review!

Estranged siblings Bellatine and Isaac Yaga could not be more different. Bellatine is a surly, introverted woodworker, desperately trying to distance herself from the magic that resides in her hands. Issaac is an eccentric charlatan, constantly on the run from his past, slipping into other's identities rather than living as himself. But one day they are brought together when a package arrives for them from Russia - a house. More specifically, a house on chicken legs, dubbed "Thistlefoot." As the siblings strike a deal to set off on Thistlefoot, touring the country with a puppet show so enchanting it seems like magic, they grapple with their pasts leaking into the present. But they aren't the only ones with baggage - someone, or rather, something, has stalked Thistlefoot from Russia, and in his wake, violence follows,

Themes of storytelling power, generational trauma, family, defiance, and retribution are at play in a bizarrely magical book narrated in part by a cheeky Yiddish house. This re-imagining of Baba Yaga feels like Jewish and Russian folklore brought to life in modern day, written in descriptive prose that you'll either love or hate.

My favourite character by far was the house itself. Thistlefoot interrupts the story of Isaac and Bellatine with tales of the past, weaving different stories of the myth of Baba Yaga while cajoling and mocking the readers and warning of the woes ahead. The truth of Baba Yaga is not revealed easily by the house, but you soon learn the truth is not the point; listening and adapting the story as your own and "bearing witness" to the tale is wear the true power resides.
I loved how UNIQUE this book was - I don't think I have ever read anything like it! The book's strengths are its themes, lyrical prose, narration, message, and villain. The haunting of the Shadow man is more than just an antagonistic villain interrupting our heroes' good time. He's a representation of a history of antisemitism and xenophobia and the way Nethercott embodies these themes in a character is handled so brilliantly.

Where the novel struggles are in its character relationships and worldbuilding. I was very confused as to why no one freaked out about a house with chicken legs! We are told, rather offhandedly, that this is a world where eyes and mouths pop up on buildings all the time.... but no other details are given. Some people have magic...sort of. Nothing is properly explained, and I could not fully suspend my disbelief; this novel crossed the line of magical realism over into fantasy, but not enough worldbuilding was given to make it a convincing fantasy.
I was disappointed in the sibling dynamic between Isaac and Bellatine. More development was given to the connection between Isaac and Benji, and they had much less page time! The core of this novel is the Yaga family, yet I did not believe they had any sense of familial connection. Both are deeply flawed characters, but these flaws are not given enough resolution, especially with Isaac's mistreatment of his sister. Their backstory with their parents is also quite lacking - why aren't their parents a presence in this family drama playing out?

You should pick up this book if you like:
- Lyrical prose
- Folklore retellings
- An emotional story
- Fantasy that borders on magical realism
- Diverse characters
- Unapologetic flawed characters
= Adventure
- Weird books (in the best way)

“People in our family, we’re born with thistles in our feet. It’s why we’re always traveling. Because if we stood still, the thistles would prick us.”


THISTLEFOOT is an enchanting and oftentimes whimsical tale steeped in Eastern European and Jewish history, myth, and folklore. The story follows the Yaga siblings, Isaac and Bellatine, as they’re called to New York to collect an inheritance left to them by their great, great (I don’t know how many greats?) grandmother, Baba Yaga. Unbeknownst to them, their inheritance is a sentient house with chicken legs that they ultimately call Thistlefoot. Both siblings live completely different lives, yet neither one has any sort of real or permanent tether to the lives they’ve chosen for themselves, so it only makes sense that they choose to live within Thistlefoot and travel the country, resurrecting their family’s traveling puppet show. All is not well though, because in their shadow follows a dangerous and unknown entity that has some sort of tie to both their family history and Thistlefoot itself.


“I’m saying,” Bellatine said, buzzing, “why does a ghost have to be a single person? What if there could be a ghost of an experience? A point in time so broken that it becomes something else? Something solid?”


Infused with subtle magic, this book was a true delight. Much of the story centers around history and the importance of storytelling, and I loved how the story bounced between past and present recounting the Yaga family history through several POV’s. A good portion of their history was shaped by historical attempts to eliminate Jews, including pograms carried out in both the Bolshevik Revolution and WW11, and the horrors they’ve experienced as Jewish people are passed down through the generations along with the whimsy and the enchanting bits. Though not all is in the past, as their current foe has ties to one of the historical events and is determined to see history repeat itself.

One of my favorite aspects of THISTLEFOOT was the relationship between the siblings. They start off in different places, with different ideas and goals (or in Isaac’s case, no goals), but each with their very own set of demons that really won’t allow either one to flourish or prosper. Through the course of the story, they really start to understand one another and I loved how their shared experiences really brought them back together and they became a family once again. Their relationship and their personal struggles added such a realistic quality to the story that so many of us can identify with. People grow apart, siblings included.


Us. Something in the word landed on Bellatine like a dragonfly, glossy and strange. For once, her brother wasn’t planning for an I. He was planning for a we.


All told, whimsical, enchanting, and rife with history of the atrocities carried out by human hands, THISTLEFOOT is a powerful and magical fairytale that fans of Katherine Arden and Naomi Novik will enjoy. This beauty is definitely one of my favorites for the whole year, and certainly one I can’t wait to revisit. 5 stars.


*eARc received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.

Two siblings inherit Thistlefoot, a house that walks on chicken legs, and decide to take it on the road as they resurrect their old puppet show. A mystery man from Thistlefoot’s past trails them, leaving bodies in his wake. That is just a very cursory description of this very dense book. It combines urban fantasy, Jewish history and folklore, magic, sibling conflict and mild romance. Each of the siblings has a particular gift that is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse.

I am afraid that there was too much going on in this book for me and the writing was too florid. I couldn’t get past the fact that a house could just prance around contemporary America without anyone even reacting to it. And the house narrated it’s memoir throughout the book, which I suppose was sort of fitting since the book was all about the preservation of memories.

I think that it might help to have some familiarity with Russian Jewish history and folklore. Unfortunately, I had never heard of the Baba Yaga stories, so I found this book pretty confusing. It constantly flipped around from the backstories of the siblings, to their magic, to their current problems with their pursuer, to Baba Yaga stories and to actual historical events. Really, some of this needed to be trimmed down. I did manage to get through this book, but I doubt that I would read another of the author’s books. 3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I have a Baba Yaga tattoo that takes up my entire calf, so when I say I love the folklore of Baba Yaga, I truly mean it. I was very excited to read a different take. Unfortunately, this ended up being a DNF for me. I was only interested in Thistlefoot and Bellatine when the story was told from their point of view. The other character perspectives seemed to really slow down the pacing for me and I didn't care for Isaac at all. The momentum just wasn't moving fast enough and without characters I enjoyed, DNF it was. Obviously, other readers loved it, so I just wasn't the target reader.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This odd little bit of magical realism was ultimately a fun read. It's a cleaver retelling of the story of Baba Yaga, that ties her legend to the anti-sematic pogroms of the Russian Empire. Isaac and Bellatine Yaga two estranged siblings with some "unusual" skills. They are in their 20s and are basically just trying a way to survive, Isaac by using his powers for his own gain and Bellatine by denying hers all together. The two are reunited after years when they inherit a mysterious, living house on chicken legs. Unfortunately, a dark evil has been in pursuit of the house for decades, and will stop at nothing to wipe out anyone who has ever laid eyes on it.

The book is well written with well-drawn characters. Even Thistlefoot herself is a POV character. I can't say that I was as a big fan of Isaac because he's such a slippery character, but he's definitely a complex one. Bellatine is a great character, despite her insecurities. You want her find her strength. The antagonist of the story is terrifying. I just felt a sense of dread whenever he was present.

Ultimately, theme of the book is the power of memory and the importance of baring witness to history. Forcibly trying to erase or hid the past is the biggest evil.

Is it the best thing I've read in the past year? Probably not, but it is a good one. So if you are in the mood for something a bit out of the ordinary, then why not give this weird, and sometimes scary, book a try.

"What is a house but a container of Life? What is a life but a container for a story. When a container is broken, it does not destroy the contents. It sets them free. "
Say their names. Remember them. The folklore of Baba Yaga. The erasing of Jews in Russia. This is an amazing story and I loved it. It shall sit with me always and I will remember.