4.5

Book source ~ Gifted

On the morning of her thirteenth birthday Lily touched her father and saw his death. Thinking it was a bad dream, she realizes it’s a curse when he dies that very day. Her mother whisks her away from the village she grew up in to the outside world that doesn’t have any magic. Joining a traveling tent revival the evangelical preacher uses Lily’s gift for his own gain. In the meantime, Baba Yaga has taken an interest in Lily. Which is surely not a good thing. How will Lily get back to the only place she loved, rescue the girl she’s falling in love with, and complete the quest Baba Yaga has given her?

This is a fascinating tale about Baba Yaga and a girl who can see death. Strange and compelling I couldn’t help but drop into the story and stay there to cheer Lily on to a satisfactory conclusion. It defies pigeon-holing and crosses several genre lines. It’s young adult, fantasy, horror, and LGBT. Plus, it’s illustrated! This is my first read of Michael Thomas Ford and I look forward to delving into more of his works. ( )

Original, poetic, and thoughtful fairy tale, notable for its decisive deconstruction of Christian salvation, and for the way it upends the fairy journey: normally protagonists enter fairy and return to the real world, but here a girl leaves fairy and returns. And who doesn't love a Baba Yaga cameo? ( )