I was swept off my feet by Vassa in the Night and taken to a completely different world. Sarah Porter's writing is atmospheric and lyrical; I found myself entranced by it. Not to mention, she managed to create an entirely unique book based off of a piece of Russian folklore that not many people have likely familiarized themselves with. It was crazy, it was special, it was exciting. The only thing keeping me from giving it five stars was my confusion. I just could not keep up with what was happening. By the time I finished (and it's actually not that long, a little less than 300 pages), I was still trying to figure out what I read. With such a short book, I feel that the plot should be clearer. Though, what she did achieve with such a short book was really amazing characters and a ton of emotion and angst. I drank it all up, loving it.

I have seen a lot of reviews claiming that Vassa is annoying and whiny, but I couldn't see that. I saw a girl broken up by her past and it was portrayed realistically in every aspect. I personally loved Vassa. She is a powerful character and she was a breath of fresh air from the usual young adult characters made of lame jokes and romance. I also loved her little doll Erg who was the light aspect of the book, keeping it humorous it times of seriousness. Erg was adorable and hilarious, one of my favorite parts to read.
And of course, the ending was fabulous. I may have been confused by parts of it, but I did love how it ended bittersweetly. There was sadness (and I actual felt the sadness), but it was also happy, and I think those are the best kind of endings. Life doesn't end with happily ever afters and sometimes not even with joy, so it was nice to read a book that didn't end with every loose end tied up in a bow like a fairytale. That's not real.

I definitely recommend trying this book out, even if it's just for the writing and unique storyline. Maybe you'll hate it, but it's hard to hate something written so absolutely beautiful.

-Book Hugger

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