Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter
My review: 5 of 5 stars
Vassa in the Night begins with a folktale about Night that is instantly engaging and mysterious. Porter makes brilliant use of personification and imagery throughout the book. Vassa, the teenage heroine, is intelligent and snarky with great appeal. Vassa in the Night is whimsical, humorous, dark, lovely, fanciful and romantic. Everything a reader could want in a modern fairy tale. I hated to put it down and could easily have read it straight through. The story is filled with puzzling riddles and magical madness. Sometimes it is frightening and horrifying. Vassa in the Night is an excellent book for discussion and analysis. It also meets the Common Core Standards. I highly recommend this book for fans of revamped fairy tales and Young Adult novels.
Quotes:
“My sole ambition is to be anyone but me, and anywhere but here” (p. 29).
“…poetry could explain anything” (p. 88).
“Maybe it’s small, my territory, but inside it I can still love what’s in front of me with all the heart I have left” (p. 121).
“…just because someone’s playing me, that doesn’t mean I have to act like a toy” (p. 177).
Based on a Russian folktale: