Reading this book reminded me of reading Alice in Wonderland. I was enjoying the overall plot and the characters were well developed and imaginative, but the story lacked flow. It was disjointed with scenes feeling very separated rather than a series of events.

This was good. Nice and dark retelling.

Well, this certainly was a book that I read.

First of all, I don't think this was a bad book by any means. It's just the sort of book that has a very specific audience, and I don't know that I'm it.

If you like books that operate on dream logic, this one is for you. When people say the Alice in Wonderland vibes are there, they're accurately talking about the OG book. Random things just happen and we, and the characters, are meant to take it in stride with mild bemusement at best.

If you're looking for world building, deep characters, a plot that makes logical sense, this is not your book.

If you're looking for a book that reads like an old-school fable, but set in modern times for some reason, then this is your book! Do like things weird, nonsensical, but well written WHILE it is being weird and nonsensical? I have found your next 5 star read!

I don't know if I can say more than that without diving into a breakdown of every random thing that happens in this book, and I don't have time for that today.

DNF at around pg 80 -- magical realism apparently just isn't my thing. I'm sad bc I guess I expected something different? but this book is just very odd and I don't even know what the plot is and I just don't have any interest to keep reading :(

When I first received Vassa in the Night in my mailbox, I was intrigued. The cover of the book is absolutely stunning, and the story interesting as well.I had the book on my TBR, but didn't start it right away. But, the more I thought about the book, the more curious I became, and I finally just HAD to read the it. I'm glad I finally did!

Can I first say that this is one of the weirdest books I think I've ever read? It's inspired by a Russian folktale Vassilissa the Beautiful, a tale that I had not heard of before, but found to be quite interesting nonetheless. I seem to be reading a lot of retellings lately that come from tales I've not heard of before, and I like that! It makes me curious to get to know the originals.

I really liked the main character in the story, Vassa. She definitely not had an easy life, especially considering who her parents were, and what she had to grow up with. I like that she always thought of more than just herself, especially when she's thrown into the weirdest situation ever. Also, she has a magical talking wooden doll named Erg, who is a bit of a kleptomaniac and has a bottomless pit for a stomach, whom I absolutely adored! These are just two of the interesting characters in the story. There are SO many more as well!

The storyline for the book was fantastically magical. Seriously, you won't believe some of the stuff you read as you turn the pages, this is so serious fantasy and magic we're talking about. And while I thought it was weird at times, I still couldn't get enough of it. (A store with chicken legs, for instance.) The book took a little longer to read than I expected, because I had to go back at times to reread what I had just read, to make sure that I had read it right!

Overall; Vassa in the Night was definitely an interesting read! I can see why it has gotten such good reviews. It's the first book I've read by Sarah Porter, but it definitely won't be the last.

Happy Reading!!

I picked up a copy of this book at BEA several years ago. I finally decided to read it after going to an author event at my local library with Katherine Arden who wrote The Bear and the Nightingale. I didn't know anything about the Russian folktale Vasilisa the Beautiful prior to the event, which both books are based upon.

Vassa makes a huge mistake when she agrees to fetch light bulbs from the local convenience store. She knows that entering the dancing building that seems to have brought perpetual darkness to Brooklyn is a risky move, but she feels like she has nothing to lose. She ends up trapped by the owner and has to work in the store to earn her freedom, which is a far better punishment than most people receive.

While working at the store, Vassa learns about her mother's magical history and how her magical wooden doll, Erg, actually came to be. She realizes she may be the only person who can put an end to Babs's reign of terror and restore Brooklyn to what it was before darkness took over the city.

This was an interesting tale filled with unusual characters and magical elements. I found it to be a slow read due to the fact that it was really far fetched and I couldn't relate to the story. I debated between 2 and 3 stars on Goodreads and probably wouldn't recommend it unless you are really into Russian folklore and can relate the elements in this story back to the original. I am curious to know more about Vasilisa the Beautiful to see where the stories overlap, but for now, I'm just ready to move on to something a bit more main stream.

What a weirdly dark book. I don't know the original folk tale but I'm going to look it up after this. This book was fun loved it.

Perhaps it was because I read this mostly late at night, but I sometimes found myself as lost as poor Vassa. Overall I enjoyed the book, but for anyone not familiar with the Russian Vassilisa fairy tales I think you would benefit greatly from reading one prior to reading this book.

Even coming in knowing the original, this was just not my thing. The writing was lovely at times, but to me it was an irritating, bloody, surrealistic nightmare.

4.5/5

Vassa in the Night is what you get when you cross Welcome to Nightvale with old Russian storytales and I loved it.

This strange story is a retelling of Vasilissa the Beautiful fairytale which was pretty fruit loops to being with, so really it's just continuing in the same spirit. Vassa in the Night uses its strange setting and characters to tell a story that is ultimately very small scale and human.

How weird is it? Well, kind of weird but nothing crazy. All the plot events make sense, and it's never weird enough that it loses its narrative train. If you like your stories to be entirely free of weird though, this probably isn't the book for you. Personally, I love it when a book uses unconventional settings or characters to tell conventional stories so it's not surprise that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. Weird ass life events that result in the main character reflecting on their inner struggles and growing as a person? Send it my way I will eat that shit up

The setting is great. We're in Brooklyn where magic exists but, like the magic in fairy tales, it's bad news. The night has been getting mysteriously longer in a way that no one can account for, and Baba Yaga's walking shack is now a Walmart-esque chain with discount on decapitations.

Vassa is a fun main character, she's an occasionally dumb teenager just trying to survive but she has a very real feeling voice. Her relationship with her sisters and the doll Erg also just feel genuine and nuanced, Sarah Porter did a great job those characterizations.

Madeleine Maby does an excellent job narrating here, so props to her as well.

As for downsides, there are a few minor plot threads that never really amount to anything. It feels like they were put in just to have an explanation for laters story events, but seeing those wrapped up or elaborated on would have been nice.

Overall, a great YA pick if you're down for some weirdness.