I know it's only August, but this might just be my favorite book of 2022.

I knew I was in for a treat from a few chapters in when we get a story from the perspective of Thistlefoot itself, and I loved the whole thing, but the last third really blew me away. Watching things come back and come together...it was absolutely brilliant. I'm really struggling here to adequately put my feelings about this book into words.

This is a book about so many things: memory, family, stories. It's gorgeously written and expertly crafted. Don't miss it.

CW: antisemitism and antisemitic violence/pogroms, deaths (including of children), self-harm, xenophobia, discussion of eugenics, referenced racism and transphobia, mentioned deportation of a parent

The book is based on the premise of Baba Yaga's descendants, two siblings - Isaac and Bellatine, from a family of a travelling act - inheriting her cottage seventy years after her demise. It starts off to reveal Isaac making his way around as a street performer, and the reader is slowly shown more and more about him and his family and past, as the author slowly opens up more plot threads.

"Kill the lantern, 
raise the ghost."

The whole book definitely reads like the author is aware that not all audiences who would get their hands on this book might be familiar with the themes and references running through it. This is one of the biggest merits of the narrative style, in my opinion. I'm not particularly well read in European and Slavic folklore, and the first thing I did before I read the book was look up Baba Yaga, just in case I might have missed something important the book commented on. This was strictly unnecessary, since the prologue itself promises the book to be accessible to most readers, and the first few chapters do a great job in setting up the tone for what can be expected in the rest of the book.

While most of the book is written through the Isaac and Bellatine's point of view, the chapters written in the house's perspective were the ones that stood out to me the most. The author has masterfully used them to add Slavic folklore to the story without disrupting its overall flow, and they definitely helped give a feeling of some knowledge of the past, along with making Baba Yaga feel more human, and less of an enigma.

The magic in this book is minimal and not what you would typically expect in a fantasy novel. I would categorise this as speculative fiction with folklore and magical realism. There is some necromancy involved, Baba Yaga does cast spells, but the magical realism is really lovely to read about, and the imagery in the prose is spectacular. And of course, since Baba Yaga's cottage is involved, it does move around.

I had a few issues with the execution of this tale. Now, I found myself feeling indifferent to the siblings, they didn't seem very well fleshed out to me. Conflicts and lack of communication within family bonds can be difficult to express, even within a narrative structure, but I just found that it wasn't done to my personal satisfaction here. When their present dynamic was introduced at the beginning of the book, I thought that the exploration of their feelings and the eventual resolution would have great potential for exploration, and was a little disappointed by how it progressed through the story.

THISTLEFOOT is an emotional and sensitive tale based on Slavic folklore that shows how history can repeat itself. I am willing to give it another go a little later to see if my feelings change. There are many of my peers that have picked up on other aspects of this book that I don't think I am particularly qualified to comment on, so I urge you to peruse a few other reviews as well. It was just not a good fit for me at this point in time, but I am confident that that may change. GennaRose Nethercott certainly has potential, and I will closely watch her future projects and will happily put her next books on my TBR pile.

I won’t waste any time in saying that Thistlefoot is easily my favorite new release of 2022 so far. It is intricate and immersive, beautifully written and deeply engaging, and readers will enjoy it from start to finish.

Nethercott’s tact and skill as a writer shines through on every page; it’s very apparent that she has a background in poetry, as the prose is absolutely gorgeous. But the story itself is fantastic, regardless of the way it’s being told (which, for the record, is also fantastic. I adored the narration and the way it pulled the audience into the story). The characters in Thistlefoot are dynamic and varied. I fell in love with all of our protagonists and was haunted by the Longshadow Man after I finished the book. The relationships between the characters are incredibly written as well, and the love they express (platonic, familial, and romantic) is so palpable. Each relationship is handled with the same amount of grace, from the friendship between Isaac and Benji, the romance between Bellatine and Winnie, and the found-familial love between Shona, Rummy, and Sparrow. Each character was strong on their own, and they only became stronger once Nethercott put them all together.

Nethercott takes us on a journey that spans across generations, incorporating both American mystique and Jewish folklore. I wasn’t bored for a single second. The way she weaves together every thread of the plot is almost magical. In particular, I love the way that this book talks about ghosts, and how memories are a kind of ghost. It’s a very unique perspective that will stick with me for quite some time.

More than anything, Thistlefoot is a thesis on the power of stories themselves. It’s a retelling of a folktale, but it’s also a folktale in and of itself. I haven’t read a fantasy this wonderful in quite some time, and I cannot wait to revisit it.

Take a dark and whimsical journey with this Baba Yaga retelling as you witness the power of generational pain and healing.

<b><i>What happens when the walls we raise outlive the dangers they were built to keep out?</i></b>

Follow along with the Yaga siblings for a journey much more life-altering than either of them ever intended. Meet Issac, a vagabond with a knack for imitation, whose past haunts his confidence in his true self. And Bellatine, his sister, trying to outrun a curse that will leave her embering if she does not face it. After an unexpected inheritance - a house with legs and a mind of its own - enters their lives, a unexpected journey commences.

<b><i>There are no ghosts of the dead. But events? Events, if they carry enough wailing, can leave a mark. Can squeeze themselves into terrible shapes, grow arms, legs, a head on which to wear a hat, feet on which to follow you. Events—they have a way of coming back.</i></b>

This beautifully written story had me wrapped up in the elegant and dark whimsical prose. GennaRose is a remarkable success in the creation of a modern folktale, a retelling of a beloved legend, that will take you on an expedition to discover the power of events and trauma on a generational scale.

For fans of retellings, dark whimsy, and modern folktales, I highly recommend this story to you.

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott will be released September 13, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this stunningly fantastical and poignant novel.

<b><i>Kill the lantern. Raise the ghost.<i><b>

'Thistlefoot' is a moving and enchanting tale of family, tradition, and the essence of storytelling.

The alternating points of view (including that of Baba Yaga's chicken-footed house!) make for a slow build to a fulfilling payoff, and an enriched view of the plot. While the slower pace may make this novel a little tougher to get into for some readers, sticking with it is worth it. There are some difficult themes and heartbreaking scenes throughout, but in a story like this, it's both expected and important to face a few heart-rending moments. And while there are a small handful of setting aspects we're expected to take at face value without much deep explanation, what folktale doesn't have that?

Content aside, the prose itself is absolutely gorgeous— Nethercott has a way with words seldom seen in modern fiction, particularly in 'Thistlefoot's' genre.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Despite its faults, Neil Gaiman's American Gods is one of my all time favorite novels. I also find Baba Yaga to be super interesting, so when I saw Thistlefoot's description and its comp to American Gods I immediately requested it.

Thistlefoot is about a chicken-footed house sent to America to a pair of siblings, but more importantly it is about the importance of stories and what it means to be a living memory. The prose is gorgeous and I really liked Isaac and Bellatine, but more importantly I loved the way Nethercott unraveled the plot and the purpose of Thistlefoot (Thistlefoot, in this instance, being the house). I liked that there was a slow build up to the story and that while everything made clear and logical sense (in that there were no off the wall mind blowing twists, but then again I don't like thrillers, so this was perfect for me) the way she introduced things was just so beautiful and heartbreaking.

I had a handful of questions at the end—why was Thistlefoot sent to America, for example?—but the themes of storytelling and bearing witness and living memory through stories (which, I think, is its own kind of immortality) are some of my all time favorite themes and they were so well executed that my lingering questions don't actually bother me all that much. This was just so good and I can't wait to beg all my friends to read it.

This book is gorgeous! So well-written. Love the characters, love the story, love everything! It has earned a place on my shelf as a personal classic.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book is about the chicken-footed house of the infamous Baba Yaga, brought into modern America, but even more its about humanity, psychology, evil, and survival. Though the books slips from perspective to perspective like someone changing clothes, it principally follows the two Yaga siblings: Isaac, a wayfaring rogue with a knack for impersonating other people, and Bellatine, who works with wood but takes care with what else she touches because of the dread potential in her hands. They know they have Jewish ancestry going back to Russia, but little about it, so when the siblings are reunited when they are bequeathed the chicken-footed house, they are taken aback by their weird fortune. Things get weirder from there, as it soon becomes clear that a dark force has also come from Russia and is hunting them down.

Foremost, the praise: the prose is gorgeous. There were multiple lines that made me say, "Wow" out loud. The book could be read and enjoyed for its language alone. However, this is not a gentle read. Major trigger warnings apply here, as there is a deep exploration of despair, death, and pogroms. It covers brutal subject matter in a heart-wrenching way.

Other aspects bothered me, though. Isaac is the kind of callous rogue who repulses me on a deep level. I struggled to get into the book because of his chapters through much of the book. The story is also surprisingly linear. It delivered little in the way of surprises through the end. Some major questions around the whole initial set-up of Thistlefoot (the house) and the bad guy coming to America were never answered for me, either.

When we first begin this story, we get a bit of history on how thistlefoot made its way to the US. While it was beautifully written and held my attention, I had no idea where the story would go from there. We then get to meet our estranged siblings Isaac and Bellatine, they are both on their way to meet and receive an inheritance from one of their Russian ancestors.
It's a house... that has chicken legs... and has a mind of its own, Bellatine desperately wants to live there so she and her brother come up with a deal. Go on tour with the house and do their families puppeteer act for a year and Bellatine have have the house free and clear. Bellatine and Isaac both have some heavy baggage and it was very interesting to see them come back together after so long apart.

Little do the siblings know that someone else is after the house, and he will do whatever it takes to find it.
The siblings go on a wonderful journey of self-discovery, this story did a great job of weaving the past with the present and making a very unputdownable story. The ending was very action-packed as Bellatine and Isaac and their new friends try to take down the evil that's been following them, It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking and a wonderful story.
I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

I received this as an ARC through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed the original premise of the book, the tale of Baba Yaga and her descendants as they take the house on the move. The magical included nations of the family and the juxtaposition of the present and past. Learning more in depth about Baba Yaga was fun as well.

The writing is heavy and slow and hard to digest. I tried listening to this as audio and wasn’t able to follow the story, so I read through and still struggled a bit to keep up with all of the details. If you usually are a lighter reader, this may not be for you.

It has been a long time since a book I was indifferent about had such a sudden and positive turn-around. Thistlefoot honestly took me by surprise. The beginning was a slow start, establishing the numerous characters and providing background of the house and the history that ties every factor of this story together. I had a hard time connecting with any of the leads and found the alternate historical perspectives from the house's point of view much more interesting. But I kept reading invested to see how it would all tie together.

Then the last 20% hit and I was blown away. Every point of view tied together seamlessly, this book about a walking house turned to a hard-hitting statement on generational trauma and how "all it takes is one survivor and the story lives on."

And it is for the delivery of the final act, how touching this book is, and the story it tells, that I would recommend it.

This book surprised me. I've always loved the stories of Baba Yaga since I was a child and when I was scrolling and saw the cover of this book I knew instantly I had to read it. I was not expecting to fall in love with it while it broke my heart at the same time. Baba Yaga's story and the chicken house's story about their village takes place in the area of Ukraine my Russian Jewish family left in the same general time period. It gave me a better understanding of my own family and reasons they may have left for America. And if a reader isn't able to relate in the same way I was, this book did an amazing job telling the story of generational trauma and how we carry it with us, in addition to remembering history and continuing to tell the stories and learning from them. Such an amazing book, definitely one of my favorite reads this year!


I received this book from NetGalley. Thank you!

Kill the lantern. Raise the ghost.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do this book the justice it deserves with this review. I haven't heard anyone talking about this book, I came across it on NetGalley and requested it on a whim, mostly based on the cover. I am a real sucker for Russian folklore in books, especially stories about Baba Yaga, and I went into this book hopeful but without a lot of expectations. It became immediately evident to me within the first few pages that this book was going to be something that stays with me for a long time.

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott is a story of the Yaga siblings, Bellatine and Isaac, their family history, and the way that stories weave into our lives. I'm not the best with summaries, but know that these siblings inherit a house with legs and life, come from a family of puppeteers, have their own unique kind of magic within them, and are now on the run from a dangerous shadow man. They are also Jewish, and trace their lineage back to Russia, and the trauma of pogroms from the early 1900s is integral to the story. I am not Jewish, so of course it's not for me to say anything about that representation, but it feels mindfully and lovingly done. Authentic and honest.

This book deals with family, with self, the way we move or don't move through the world, loss, grief, love, and above all, story. What are our stories? What stories do we tell ourselves and how do other people talk about us in theirs? How do stories change with time and with tellings? Whose story gets heard? How do we bear witness?

It's beautiful. I highlighted so many lines and sections while reading. There were times when it gave me chills to read, times that I had tears in my eyes. It's heart-wrenching and hopeful. I know it's a book that I am going to read again and again. It's a book that has sunk into my bones and that I know I am going to think about and reference for a long time.

I loved the shifting perspectives of the house and the Yaga siblings. It was a beautiful novel and more insightful than I thought when reading the description.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

This was not at all what I was expecting...in a good way.

From the description, this seemed like it would be a quirky, magical adventure tale, but it turned into something way deeper and more profound. Ultimately, it's a story about generational trauma, wrapped in a very lovely shell, and threaded with some sublime writing.

But you must hang in there to get to all this good stuff.

To be honest, the beginning of this book did not grab me AT ALL. First, the long description of thistle and the some time with Isaac, who is perhaps a more difficult character to connect with (as he is a chameleon at heart) meant the story started out slow and a bit shaky (in my opinion).

To add the that challenge, the alternating perspectives of the two siblings is interspersed with tales from Thistlefoot itself, which tend to roll all over the place (as is the nature of stories passed down in generations). But trust me, it all comes together and make sense by the end. It's a bit like a puzzle.

As the book so eloquently puts it, "What is a life but a container for a story? When a container is broken, it does not destroy the contents. It set them free." Ultimately this is a story about events that collectively haunt us and the importance of being a witness to the truth of our history and present, making sure those moments are never forgotten.

While the book isn't political, there are some insights in here that really resonate with our times like, "But what is a lie if not a story? And ah, what power a story has when whispered into the ear of a man with a gun." Wise words in the age of online disinformation campaigns.

Anyway, this was a lovely, unexpected find. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Actual rating: 4.5

GennaRose Nethercott presents Thistlefoot, a story steeped in the magic, folklore, and tragedy of Jewish traditional storytelling. Readers follow siblings Bellatine, whose hands burn with anti-death, and Isaac who must run from everything including his very life. The Yaga siblings have inherited a house from an ancestor and the house walks to them on chicken legs.

This story is everything. Thistlefoot is beautiful and tragic and hopeful and bold. The shifting perspectives between Bellatine, Isaac, Thistlefoot (the house), and more just work so fluidly. Thistlefoot as a perspective character is especially effective at presenting the past and how things have come to be as they are. The Longshadow Man is such an effective villain and the message of silencing stories and memories is one that is undeniable.

My one and only grievance about this book is one of entirely personal taste. This book runs slow. There were many times where I did not want to pick the book up only because I did not have the mental bandwidth to process all of the information and did not want to accept the pace at which the information was given. I wanted to skim. I wanted to stop. I'm so very glad I didn't. But, for that feeling, unfortunately I don't think a full five stars is fair.

That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fairytale, folktales, fantasy, and history. I will be screaming from the rooftops and I will be purchasing a copy.

This is a remarkable story. Loosely based on the old Russian tale of Baba Yaga and full of symbolism, this tale will haunt you. Nethercott’s protagonists - brother & sister Isaac and Bellatine - are challenged to resolve trauma through generational memory as they inherit the infamous Baba’s house on chicken legs along with an age-old enemy out to destroy the house and those connected to it.

There are so many layers to unfold here - lots of references to Jewish history, family trauma across generations, magic and mayhem, and ultimately the power of story and the bond between family members.

Nethercott joins the ranks of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden here with glorious and deadly prose and an absolutely stunning story.

A wonderfully creative Baba Yaga story about confronting generational trauma and healing wounds we didn't even know we carry. It's the story of Isaac and Bellatine Yaga, who inherit a walking house from an long ago ancestor across the ocean in a world where houses occasionally mutate to survive traumatic events. Unfortunately, they also inherit an old adversary along with it...
It took me a while to fully get into it, but I couldn't put it down by the last half or so of the book. To be frank, I found both MC's to be unlikable for the first third or half of the book, but they grew on me and were given context for the things I found frustrating. I'm also not totally sure what purpose the horse-skull trio really had in the story besides plot movement - they lacked backstory and fleshing out, beyond their function for a few plot points. I felt there was a bit of an opportunity lost there, but I think they'd make a great spin-off/prequel/sequel focus.
Recommend for fans of urban fantasy and fairy tale retellings!

A must for Naomi Novik fans. Masterful storytelling and an incredible use of myth and legend. This is definitely a slow burn so settle in and enjoy the ride.