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Finding Baba Yaga
A young woman discovers the power to speak up and take control of her fate—a theme that has never been more timely than it is now…
You think you know this story.
You do not.
A harsh, controlling father. A quiescent mother. A house that feels like anything but a home. Natasha gathers the strength to leave, and comes upon a little house in the wood: A house that walks about on chicken feet and is inhabited by a fairy tale witch. In finding Baba Yaga, Natasha finds her voice, her power, herself...
You think you know this story.
You do not.
A harsh, controlling father. A quiescent mother. A house that feels like anything but a home. Natasha gathers the strength to leave, and comes upon a little house in the wood: A house that walks about on chicken feet and is inhabited by a fairy tale witch. In finding Baba Yaga, Natasha finds her voice, her power, herself...
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2018
About the author
Jane Yolen
942 books3,123 followersJane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews
November 26, 2018
Jane Yolen’s Finding Baba Yaga opens with:
You think you know this story.
You do not.
We start with a broken home and a troubled teenage girl who manages to escape it. She ends up living with the ancient witch Baba Yaga (who now appears to live in North America) and it’s there she learns the witch’s magics while taking care of her curious house with its chicken legs and uneven floors. But more importantly, this is where she learns to trust in herself, in the power of her own voice and the simple truth that she controls her own fate.
Finding Baba Yaga is both a contemporary story and a fairy tale and it’s told entirely in verse.
I know. Some of you are wrinkling your brows.
If you don’t like poetry, or think that you don’t, not to worry. Yolen’s work can always be read on many levels beginning with the comfortable cadence of the words as they appear on the page. It’s a straightforward—albeit lyrical—story which should be as easy to relate to as a prose story. Although admittedly this is a concise one. While it fulfills all the requirements of a novel in terms of the sweep of its story you can still read it in a couple of hours.
You can also delve deeper, savoring the richness of the language, the simplicity when it’s needed and the parts where the lines sing. Lines such as:
I step onto the path,
knowing it is but the beginning,
one foot, then the other,
till I gleam silver all over,
in the moonlight.
Or:
When I wake, the bed is small, her side cold.
She’s gone on that long road into adulthood
from which none of us returns.
Poetry is just words on the paper, arranged a little differently from prose, with a little more intent packed into each word. Poetry can be obscure and confusing but the verses in Finding Baba Yaga are neither.
I’m willing to bet that if you give it a chance you’ll soon be so swallowed by the story and the beauty of its telling that you’ll forget you’re reading poetry.
This is a Worm Ouroboros of a story, the old made new, the new made old, metaphors rubbing shoulders with painful truths. Far from being a gimmick it’s rather the only way the story could be told to deliver the impact that it does. Jane Yolen is a National Treasure and you don't need to go any further than the pages of Finding Baba Yaga to understand why.
Highly recommended.
You think you know this story.
You do not.
We start with a broken home and a troubled teenage girl who manages to escape it. She ends up living with the ancient witch Baba Yaga (who now appears to live in North America) and it’s there she learns the witch’s magics while taking care of her curious house with its chicken legs and uneven floors. But more importantly, this is where she learns to trust in herself, in the power of her own voice and the simple truth that she controls her own fate.
Finding Baba Yaga is both a contemporary story and a fairy tale and it’s told entirely in verse.
I know. Some of you are wrinkling your brows.
If you don’t like poetry, or think that you don’t, not to worry. Yolen’s work can always be read on many levels beginning with the comfortable cadence of the words as they appear on the page. It’s a straightforward—albeit lyrical—story which should be as easy to relate to as a prose story. Although admittedly this is a concise one. While it fulfills all the requirements of a novel in terms of the sweep of its story you can still read it in a couple of hours.
You can also delve deeper, savoring the richness of the language, the simplicity when it’s needed and the parts where the lines sing. Lines such as:
I step onto the path,
knowing it is but the beginning,
one foot, then the other,
till I gleam silver all over,
in the moonlight.
Or:
When I wake, the bed is small, her side cold.
She’s gone on that long road into adulthood
from which none of us returns.
Poetry is just words on the paper, arranged a little differently from prose, with a little more intent packed into each word. Poetry can be obscure and confusing but the verses in Finding Baba Yaga are neither.
I’m willing to bet that if you give it a chance you’ll soon be so swallowed by the story and the beauty of its telling that you’ll forget you’re reading poetry.
This is a Worm Ouroboros of a story, the old made new, the new made old, metaphors rubbing shoulders with painful truths. Far from being a gimmick it’s rather the only way the story could be told to deliver the impact that it does. Jane Yolen is a National Treasure and you don't need to go any further than the pages of Finding Baba Yaga to understand why.
Highly recommended.
September 13, 2018
"Stories retold are stories remade...This is a tale both old and new, borrowed, narrowed, broadened, deepened". In Russian folklore, Baba Yaga is a terrifying old witch who can be cruel and fearsome or perhaps powerful and kind. She lives in a nondescript hut deep in the forest. The hut moves around on chicken feet. When Baba Yaga calls to her house, it will rotate counterclockwise until the front door faces her. Baba's method of transportation is a human size mortar she steers with a pestle as a rudder. She has a voracious appetite and enjoys eating children, especially little boys. She has a mouth full of iron teeth, the better to gobble up her human dinner!
Teenager Natasha leads a miserable life with her parents. If she uses a bad word, her papa calls her "filth" and puts soap in her mouth to "cleanse" her. She is often locked in her room, held captive until her mama locates the key and unlocks the door. There is no peace in the house. Natasha runs away. After days of hunger, with the hard ground as her bed, she follows a path into the woods, passing by "ghostly" trees. She spots a little hut, Baba Yaga's hut. Natasha is a feisty, friendly girl. Baba Yaga's reaction: "You'll do girl, you'll do". What is in store for this 21st Century runaway? Settling in with Baba Yaga, Natasha is surprised to find she will be sharing her room with a new arrival.
Vasilisa, a petite, pretty blond arrives carrying three special secret possessions. Natasha and Vasilisa bond. Vasilisa is Natasha's first friend. She is thrilled, but only for a while. Vasilisa plans to marry a prince and therefore must escape from Baba's house. Vasilisa has an ace up her sleeve. If pursued, she will unleash some magic!
"Finding Baba Yaga: A Short Novel in Verse" by Jane Yolen will arguably capture the imagination of readers everywhere although it is marketed to Teens/YA. The protagonists Baba Yaga, Natasha, and Vasilisa are lovingly crafted by Yolen. The verse is clear and concise and the story magnificently told. The mixture of 21st Century issues with Slavic folklore create a delightful read!
Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Finding Baba Yaga".
Teenager Natasha leads a miserable life with her parents. If she uses a bad word, her papa calls her "filth" and puts soap in her mouth to "cleanse" her. She is often locked in her room, held captive until her mama locates the key and unlocks the door. There is no peace in the house. Natasha runs away. After days of hunger, with the hard ground as her bed, she follows a path into the woods, passing by "ghostly" trees. She spots a little hut, Baba Yaga's hut. Natasha is a feisty, friendly girl. Baba Yaga's reaction: "You'll do girl, you'll do". What is in store for this 21st Century runaway? Settling in with Baba Yaga, Natasha is surprised to find she will be sharing her room with a new arrival.
Vasilisa, a petite, pretty blond arrives carrying three special secret possessions. Natasha and Vasilisa bond. Vasilisa is Natasha's first friend. She is thrilled, but only for a while. Vasilisa plans to marry a prince and therefore must escape from Baba's house. Vasilisa has an ace up her sleeve. If pursued, she will unleash some magic!
"Finding Baba Yaga: A Short Novel in Verse" by Jane Yolen will arguably capture the imagination of readers everywhere although it is marketed to Teens/YA. The protagonists Baba Yaga, Natasha, and Vasilisa are lovingly crafted by Yolen. The verse is clear and concise and the story magnificently told. The mixture of 21st Century issues with Slavic folklore create a delightful read!
Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Finding Baba Yaga".
September 29, 2018
Things I loved:
The cover
Yolen's take on the Baba Yaga
The Verse - skillfully done, the verse unfolds the story of a nameless girl, fleeing a bad home and finding one with Baba Yaga.
Dislikes
I don't really have a lot of them. But perhaps it was a bit difficult to feel emotional connection to the storyline.
Thanks to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review
The cover
Yolen's take on the Baba Yaga
The Verse - skillfully done, the verse unfolds the story of a nameless girl, fleeing a bad home and finding one with Baba Yaga.
Dislikes
I don't really have a lot of them. But perhaps it was a bit difficult to feel emotional connection to the storyline.
Thanks to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review
September 22, 2018
Wow! I've never read books in verse, and I normally don't even like poetry, but this one definitely packs a punch! I loved it.
The feminist themes of a girl without her place, mixed with hints of mythology and the general woman-witch archetype was amazing. This is a fast read, and you don't know quite what to make of it, but you know the feeling is good.
Finding Baba Yaga hints at many things - abusive or restricting, over-religious parents, lack of freedom to choose even your own thoughts or words, leaving home and finding a new life for yourself, loss, jealousy, disappointment, love. Finding an odd companion, becoming a family to someone who is nothing and nobody to you. And eventually finding your roots somewhere you would have never dreamed of finding them.
The poems are strong, they talk about the importance of words and stories. But they're not pretentious or hard to understand at all - it's pretty straightforward, and yet, it still has these little plays on words that you can choose to interpret the way you like. I liked both the symbolism and the simplicity of this book, and I'm sure I'll be reading it again.
I thank Tor.com for sending me a review copy on exchange to my honest opinion. It has not affected my opinion.
More Bookish Talk on my Blog | My Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
The feminist themes of a girl without her place, mixed with hints of mythology and the general woman-witch archetype was amazing. This is a fast read, and you don't know quite what to make of it, but you know the feeling is good.
Finding Baba Yaga hints at many things - abusive or restricting, over-religious parents, lack of freedom to choose even your own thoughts or words, leaving home and finding a new life for yourself, loss, jealousy, disappointment, love. Finding an odd companion, becoming a family to someone who is nothing and nobody to you. And eventually finding your roots somewhere you would have never dreamed of finding them.
The poems are strong, they talk about the importance of words and stories. But they're not pretentious or hard to understand at all - it's pretty straightforward, and yet, it still has these little plays on words that you can choose to interpret the way you like. I liked both the symbolism and the simplicity of this book, and I'm sure I'll be reading it again.
I thank Tor.com for sending me a review copy on exchange to my honest opinion. It has not affected my opinion.
More Bookish Talk on my Blog | My Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
October 22, 2018
✨ My full review is now up on my blog!
Blog | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter
I have questions I don’t know
how to ask. There are answers
I don’t know how to hear.
Blog | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter
January 21, 2019
This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription
“Living well lasts longer than love”
🌟 I haven’t heard much about this book before getting an ARC from the publisher, which I want to take the chance to say Thanks to.
🌟 I have finished Uprooted lately which mentions Yaga and I googled that character and started reading about her! I think I was lucky enough to have a short book all about her.
🌟 I felt that this short novel, written in verse is like the average books in the same genre! My problem with those books is that they can never be amazing from start to end. This was like that, it would mesmerize me at some verses and lose me at others. I think the author is beyond my introduction as at the back cover it mentions that she has written 365 books?!! That’s amazing!
🌟 The story itself is OK, I liked the modern intake on the story and that Baba Yaga is keeping up with our modern world, which I did not expect and thought that this will be in an older time era. The story also discusses some important subjects such as acceptance and family and societal roles!
🌟 Summary: I do like books written in verse when I want something fast and informative and does not require me giving much thought into it. I think Finding Baba Yaga is a good one for all of those interested in her and those who likes poetry and verses!
“Living well lasts longer than love”
🌟 I haven’t heard much about this book before getting an ARC from the publisher, which I want to take the chance to say Thanks to.
🌟 I have finished Uprooted lately which mentions Yaga and I googled that character and started reading about her! I think I was lucky enough to have a short book all about her.
🌟 I felt that this short novel, written in verse is like the average books in the same genre! My problem with those books is that they can never be amazing from start to end. This was like that, it would mesmerize me at some verses and lose me at others. I think the author is beyond my introduction as at the back cover it mentions that she has written 365 books?!! That’s amazing!
🌟 The story itself is OK, I liked the modern intake on the story and that Baba Yaga is keeping up with our modern world, which I did not expect and thought that this will be in an older time era. The story also discusses some important subjects such as acceptance and family and societal roles!
🌟 Summary: I do like books written in verse when I want something fast and informative and does not require me giving much thought into it. I think Finding Baba Yaga is a good one for all of those interested in her and those who likes poetry and verses!
December 28, 2018
3.5*s. Hard to rate. There a lot of things I really liked. I was going for a 4*s but I also found it a bit hard to connect to the story... In any case, I think it is a really nice read. Surprisingly, original and magical.
November 18, 2018
Rating 4 Stars
ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I can really see why Jane Yolen is so beloved by many she is knows really how to weave verses with beautiful words that tell a story.
I'm personally not very familiar with the tale of Baba Yaga. I only know the basic details of Yaga herself but as for Vasilisa not really. I don't know why she came to live at Baba Yaga's like Natasha and why she would run away with a stuck up prince. It is revealed at the end that she is somehow Yaga's daughter which I thought was interesting but there is still so many gaps left unfilled.
But other than that I got lost in the words they were so beautiful and I liked Natasha as a character. She seemed smart and sensible and cared for Vasilisa. When she ran away it seemed to devastate her as much as it did Yaga. But I'm glad she stayed with Yaga and learned to do magic like her.That she would carry on the legacy of witchcraft born from this old woman. I wish there was honestly more in this book I really want more backstory and more on what became of Vasilisa but other than that I loved it.
ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I can really see why Jane Yolen is so beloved by many she is knows really how to weave verses with beautiful words that tell a story.
I'm personally not very familiar with the tale of Baba Yaga. I only know the basic details of Yaga herself but as for Vasilisa not really. I don't know why she came to live at Baba Yaga's like Natasha and why she would run away with a stuck up prince. It is revealed at the end that she is somehow Yaga's daughter which I thought was interesting but there is still so many gaps left unfilled.
But other than that I got lost in the words they were so beautiful and I liked Natasha as a character. She seemed smart and sensible and cared for Vasilisa. When she ran away it seemed to devastate her as much as it did Yaga. But I'm glad she stayed with Yaga and learned to do magic like her.That she would carry on the legacy of witchcraft born from this old woman. I wish there was honestly more in this book I really want more backstory and more on what became of Vasilisa but other than that I loved it.
November 1, 2018
Quite an original way of retelling the Baba Yaga tale in verse, mixing the old Russian folktale with a modern world setting and giving Baba Yaga a protégée that's an escapee girl, Natasha, who flees an abusive father and somehow ends up in the witch's forest cottage.
At first, I was a bit confused not just because of the obscure opening verses but also because Yolen chose the "gradual reveal" peeling-the-onion style of storytelling, and it's only the further you read that the plot becomes clearer, and you become engrossed. I ended up liking this strange story precisely because of the mishmash of old tale & modern life ingredients, and the unusual verse rendition.
At first, I was a bit confused not just because of the obscure opening verses but also because Yolen chose the "gradual reveal" peeling-the-onion style of storytelling, and it's only the further you read that the plot becomes clearer, and you become engrossed. I ended up liking this strange story precisely because of the mishmash of old tale & modern life ingredients, and the unusual verse rendition.
November 10, 2018
The poems didn't speak to me, which is an entirely subjective and entirely necessary quality for something like this. And I wish it had more to do with Baba Yaga and less to do with the modern narrator. The Issues™️ were presented too heavy-handedly, and there was not enough of the visceral and emotional truths that are so necessary for fairy tales to work.
June 12, 2023
This is a fun little novel, written in verse, about a modern girl who runs away from a troubled home and ends up on everyone's favourite Russian witch Baba Yaga's doorstep. Yolen incorporates various elements of Slavic myths, Russian folklore and fairy tales into a contemporary poetic novella that explores the idea of family. I especially loved Baba Yaga teaching the girls how to drive the mortar and pestle. Interesting concept, engaging execution.
April 12, 2019
This book is definitely haunting, it has the perfect atmosphere for a retelling of Russian mythology. I will be frank with you, I didn’t know a lot about Baba Yaga prior to reading this book. I’ve always been interested in Russian mythology, but I’m a bit intimidated by it and Russian literature as a whole. But this book managed to make me very interested in Baba Yaga and I will probably read more books on this mythological figure because of Finding Baba Yaga.
I loved how the modern seemed to intertwine with the mythical, it was fascinating and it was very feminist. It was everything I ever wanted in a book, but there were definitely some low aspects that I couldn’t ignore. For example, the pace was a bit slow and there were times when I would get distracted very easily and just not be as interested in the plot as in the beginning. The poems were beautifully crafted, the writing seemed effortless. I liked how this read like a twisted fairy-tale and Baba Yaga was definitely an enigmatic figure.
She was dark, she was gritty, but you could also see a more emotional, caring side to her. One that really cared about the girls, that wanted to take care of them and shelter them from the world and its many dangers.
Natasha, the narrator, finds herself in Baba Yaga’s house after running away from home, from her over-religious parents, from her father who put so many restrictions on her. I really felt sympathetic towards her and I was glad that she seemed to have found her place with Baba Yaga.
I would definitely recommend it to everyone who’s interested in Russian myths, who wants to read something atmospheric, who likes modern retellings and fierce girls.
I want to thank Tor.com for sending me a review copy of Finding Baba Yaga, it hasn’t affected my opinion in any way.
I loved how the modern seemed to intertwine with the mythical, it was fascinating and it was very feminist. It was everything I ever wanted in a book, but there were definitely some low aspects that I couldn’t ignore. For example, the pace was a bit slow and there were times when I would get distracted very easily and just not be as interested in the plot as in the beginning. The poems were beautifully crafted, the writing seemed effortless. I liked how this read like a twisted fairy-tale and Baba Yaga was definitely an enigmatic figure.
She was dark, she was gritty, but you could also see a more emotional, caring side to her. One that really cared about the girls, that wanted to take care of them and shelter them from the world and its many dangers.
Natasha, the narrator, finds herself in Baba Yaga’s house after running away from home, from her over-religious parents, from her father who put so many restrictions on her. I really felt sympathetic towards her and I was glad that she seemed to have found her place with Baba Yaga.
I would definitely recommend it to everyone who’s interested in Russian myths, who wants to read something atmospheric, who likes modern retellings and fierce girls.
I want to thank Tor.com for sending me a review copy of Finding Baba Yaga, it hasn’t affected my opinion in any way.
October 18, 2018
I’ve always loved the story of Baba Yaga, and I never seem to tire of stories told in verse, a storytelling-through-poetry method that works beautifully for whimsical, dark fairytales like this one. Something unique to Finding Baba Yaga, however, is the modern spin Yolen puts on it; while you know that it takes place in modern times, it’s easy to forget when Natasha is in Baba Yaga’s house of magic and mysteries.
The reason I love Baba Yaga so much is her affinity for feisty, angry, curious girls. In a world full of fairytales (especially the old ones) where young women are taught to be quiet, take up little space, and do as they’re told, Baba Yaga plays the role of a bizarre, crude, fun, and sometimes terrifying old crone, here to offer reprieve to the girls who never quite learned how to make themselves small.
Yolen’s a pro at storytelling, as her proficient writing career suggests, but what amazed me was how beautiful her poetry is. While it gets a little muddied at points, I found her writing voice so entertaining and bold and lovely, and were she to write more stories in verse in the future, I would eagerly be first in line to read them.
Content warnings for abuse, anti-Semitism, misogyny (all challenged in text)
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to TorDotCom for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This is a tale
both old and new,
borrowed, narrowed,
broadened, deepened.
The reason I love Baba Yaga so much is her affinity for feisty, angry, curious girls. In a world full of fairytales (especially the old ones) where young women are taught to be quiet, take up little space, and do as they’re told, Baba Yaga plays the role of a bizarre, crude, fun, and sometimes terrifying old crone, here to offer reprieve to the girls who never quite learned how to make themselves small.
Baba Yaga prefers them bright, asking questions,
challenging her, turning their backs.
She likes the ones who stick out their tongues,
laugh at death threats, use foul language, never beg.
Yolen’s a pro at storytelling, as her proficient writing career suggests, but what amazed me was how beautiful her poetry is. While it gets a little muddied at points, I found her writing voice so entertaining and bold and lovely, and were she to write more stories in verse in the future, I would eagerly be first in line to read them.
Content warnings for abuse, anti-Semitism, misogyny (all challenged in text)
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to TorDotCom for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
June 5, 2019
This short, contemporary fairy tale book from beloved classic author Jane Yolen is a departure from the norm for the Tor.com line that published it in a couple of key ways. First, as the subtitle indicates, it is told in verse. More specifically, it is really comprised of a collection of short poems, some of which directly further the narrative, while others serve more introspective or playful purposes. Second, it is being presented as young adult, even though Tor.com is generally an adult SFF imprint. I don't know how successful this marketing technique has been for them, but I have to admire the effort to support forms of YA storytelling that are outside the mainstream of current trends.
Of course this book is about a girl who finds Baba Yaga, the classic witch from Russian folklore, but first Yolen establishes the protagonist Natasha's fraught home life in a contemporary household with an abusive father. As with everything in this book, we don't really get the full story, only snippets, and we can fill in the rest on our own. But Natasha is a vulnerable young person who has absolutely no one she can go to for help, and so she runs away with no idea of what she's running toward or what she'll do when she gets there.
And this is when the elements of fairy tale intervene, because Natasha is the exact sort of girl who, with no other options, might stumble upon Baba Yaga's chicken-legged cottage in the woods. The type to whom Baba Yaga might offer some aid to, though her kindness is tough and never straightforward. This version of Baba Yaga is a modern old lady with all of the frightening power and quirks of the mythic figure. The juxtaposition of the fantastical upon a mundane story isn't fussed over in this world of poetry, it just happens. And it happens again when another girl, Vasilisa, joins Natasha at Baba Yaga's house, as if straight out of a fairy tale, princely suitor on her heels and all. But while these two girls develop a camaraderie and closeness, they ultimately have two very different destinies and roles to fulfill.
A major theme of Finding Baba Yaga is language itself. At home, Natasha's father polices her language, washing out her mouth with soap when she uses a bad word. Throughout the poems, she longingly comments upon others' relationships with language, and the richness that she has been denied. Baba Yaga gives her both the freedom to revel in crude language and the tools to tell a story through poetry... which may be comprised of lies in service to a greater truth.
By the end, you may wonder, if these are Natasha's poems, then how much of this story was real? The prince and his castle? Learning to fly in a mortar and pestle? The witch herself? Yolen's message, and Natasha's, is that it doesn't really matter. What matters is that Natasha has found, through trials and tribulations, a place to belong and perhaps even a calling.
I'd call this a unique approach to YA storytelling, except that, when pressed to think of it, I've actually read one other book that I'd say is pretty similar in some ways. Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block is similarly short and told in poetry, juxtaposing Greek mythology onto a gritty contemporary story in a way that makes you question how much is literally meant to be real. I think that Yolen's book, like Block's, will work better for some teen readers than others, depending on preexisting knowledge of the underlying folklore as well as a willingness to commit to a less straightforward narrative. But really any fan of fairy tale fiction, regardless of age, may find something worthwhile in this coming-of-age story.
Of course this book is about a girl who finds Baba Yaga, the classic witch from Russian folklore, but first Yolen establishes the protagonist Natasha's fraught home life in a contemporary household with an abusive father. As with everything in this book, we don't really get the full story, only snippets, and we can fill in the rest on our own. But Natasha is a vulnerable young person who has absolutely no one she can go to for help, and so she runs away with no idea of what she's running toward or what she'll do when she gets there.
And this is when the elements of fairy tale intervene, because Natasha is the exact sort of girl who, with no other options, might stumble upon Baba Yaga's chicken-legged cottage in the woods. The type to whom Baba Yaga might offer some aid to, though her kindness is tough and never straightforward. This version of Baba Yaga is a modern old lady with all of the frightening power and quirks of the mythic figure. The juxtaposition of the fantastical upon a mundane story isn't fussed over in this world of poetry, it just happens. And it happens again when another girl, Vasilisa, joins Natasha at Baba Yaga's house, as if straight out of a fairy tale, princely suitor on her heels and all. But while these two girls develop a camaraderie and closeness, they ultimately have two very different destinies and roles to fulfill.
A major theme of Finding Baba Yaga is language itself. At home, Natasha's father polices her language, washing out her mouth with soap when she uses a bad word. Throughout the poems, she longingly comments upon others' relationships with language, and the richness that she has been denied. Baba Yaga gives her both the freedom to revel in crude language and the tools to tell a story through poetry... which may be comprised of lies in service to a greater truth.
By the end, you may wonder, if these are Natasha's poems, then how much of this story was real? The prince and his castle? Learning to fly in a mortar and pestle? The witch herself? Yolen's message, and Natasha's, is that it doesn't really matter. What matters is that Natasha has found, through trials and tribulations, a place to belong and perhaps even a calling.
I'd call this a unique approach to YA storytelling, except that, when pressed to think of it, I've actually read one other book that I'd say is pretty similar in some ways. Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block is similarly short and told in poetry, juxtaposing Greek mythology onto a gritty contemporary story in a way that makes you question how much is literally meant to be real. I think that Yolen's book, like Block's, will work better for some teen readers than others, depending on preexisting knowledge of the underlying folklore as well as a willingness to commit to a less straightforward narrative. But really any fan of fairy tale fiction, regardless of age, may find something worthwhile in this coming-of-age story.
April 7, 2019
Says: Telling the future is dead easy, girl,
easier when you’re already dead inside.
Excerpt from Finding Baba Yaga by Jane Yollen
This is an incredible idea, but not one that you can easily plow through. It needs to be savored like a fine wine or cheese. Taste each stanza, mull over each word, contemplate Yollen’s direction for the story for each word is soaked in meaning and brimming with the narrative.
When I first started reading this story, I honestly did not know what to expect. I don’t know much about the legend of Baba Yaga. I still don’t really feel like I do. But, I think I have a deeper sense of the legends meaning and what Baba Yaga means for Russian mythology and legend.
I step onto the path,
knowing it is but the beginning,
one foot, then the other,
till I gleam silver all over,
in the moonlight.
Excerpt from Finding Baba Yaga by Jane Yollen
The overarching themes of the story are very direct and present. In the beginning, we have the controlling father and the harshness of a house that is not a home. Later we have the escape, starvation, and running to the forest to find freedom. The teenage girl finds the house with the chicken legs and begins to live with Baba Yaga, learning all of her magic. With this independence, the girl learns to trust and confidence in herself and who she is inside. I think this is an important thing to take away from this book. The girl finds freedom in her independence and confidence, coming from a broken home some readers can empathize with that. It is empowering and beautiful. But don’t believe me, go read it for yourself because that is the miracle and beauty of the prose. What it means to me can be entirely different for another reader. Neither of us is wrong nor right, we can just sit back and sit in awe and Jane Yollen’s gorgeously crafted words.
easier when you’re already dead inside.
Excerpt from Finding Baba Yaga by Jane Yollen
This is an incredible idea, but not one that you can easily plow through. It needs to be savored like a fine wine or cheese. Taste each stanza, mull over each word, contemplate Yollen’s direction for the story for each word is soaked in meaning and brimming with the narrative.
When I first started reading this story, I honestly did not know what to expect. I don’t know much about the legend of Baba Yaga. I still don’t really feel like I do. But, I think I have a deeper sense of the legends meaning and what Baba Yaga means for Russian mythology and legend.
I step onto the path,
knowing it is but the beginning,
one foot, then the other,
till I gleam silver all over,
in the moonlight.
Excerpt from Finding Baba Yaga by Jane Yollen
The overarching themes of the story are very direct and present. In the beginning, we have the controlling father and the harshness of a house that is not a home. Later we have the escape, starvation, and running to the forest to find freedom. The teenage girl finds the house with the chicken legs and begins to live with Baba Yaga, learning all of her magic. With this independence, the girl learns to trust and confidence in herself and who she is inside. I think this is an important thing to take away from this book. The girl finds freedom in her independence and confidence, coming from a broken home some readers can empathize with that. It is empowering and beautiful. But don’t believe me, go read it for yourself because that is the miracle and beauty of the prose. What it means to me can be entirely different for another reader. Neither of us is wrong nor right, we can just sit back and sit in awe and Jane Yollen’s gorgeously crafted words.
Shelved as 'dnf'
November 9, 2020Tried but despite liking individual poems/verses, couldn't get into this one:( It just very meh overall.
DNF at 45%
*birthday present from my good friend David for my birthday earlier this year*
DNF at 45%
*birthday present from my good friend David for my birthday earlier this year*
Shelved as 'wishlist'
October 18, 2018The story of Baba Yaga - written in verse. Colour me curious!
November 12, 2018
Ok, so Russian fairy tales. My favorites, obviously. And not merely because I grew up with them or because I have to because of my Russian heritage. No, they're some of the best fairy tales in the world because they're so ambiguous, confusing, and sometimes just plain crazy. But most importantly, they are just about as inclusive as anything you will ever read. They bring you in, huddle you up in a blanket, dump hygge on you in bucketfuls, and make you tremble both with fear and delight.
So when I heard about Jane Yolen's short book, I was delighted. Baba Yaga, who shows up in my now novels in a slightly changed form, is a real favorite. And this novella was in verse! How cool is that? And how often does that happen nowadays? Plus, the verse really isn't horrible, which to this lover of Gerard Manley Hopkins and T. S. Eliot is saying a lot.
The first half of this book I loved. The setting is perfect, if a bit annoyingly cliched. By that I mean that the wicked stepmother of our days has turned into the Calvinistically religious father... But I digress.
The use of fairy tale tropes, both in their hilariously modern remakes and in their surprisingly literal appearances (the doll, the comb, and the ribbon of the Baba Yaga tales all make literal appearances) were great. But the strange repressed sexual tension between the main character, Vasilisa, and Ivan the Prince was not. I didn't like it. It was weird.
And that's what ultimately made this a slight failure for me. I loved the form of it. I loved the idea of it. But fairy tales are supposed to include everyone. They're universal in their morality. This, however, is a feminist fable of a particularly specific type. You know how we are all often told that feminism isn't just for women, that men can and should be good feminists too? This is not that kind of feminism. By the end of the book, I felt like the author was telling a morality tale that was directed at women only.
Not that there was any misandry in it or anything. No. Just exclusion. And that's fine, if you go for that sort of thing. My disappointment stems from the fact that the author chose fairy tales, which are the most universal of all literary genres, to tell a tale meant for a very limited audience.
That being said, I'd read another of these novels-in-verse by Jane Yolen any day!
So when I heard about Jane Yolen's short book, I was delighted. Baba Yaga, who shows up in my now novels in a slightly changed form, is a real favorite. And this novella was in verse! How cool is that? And how often does that happen nowadays? Plus, the verse really isn't horrible, which to this lover of Gerard Manley Hopkins and T. S. Eliot is saying a lot.
The first half of this book I loved. The setting is perfect, if a bit annoyingly cliched. By that I mean that the wicked stepmother of our days has turned into the Calvinistically religious father... But I digress.
The use of fairy tale tropes, both in their hilariously modern remakes and in their surprisingly literal appearances (the doll, the comb, and the ribbon of the Baba Yaga tales all make literal appearances) were great. But the strange repressed sexual tension between the main character, Vasilisa, and Ivan the Prince was not. I didn't like it. It was weird.
And that's what ultimately made this a slight failure for me. I loved the form of it. I loved the idea of it. But fairy tales are supposed to include everyone. They're universal in their morality. This, however, is a feminist fable of a particularly specific type. You know how we are all often told that feminism isn't just for women, that men can and should be good feminists too? This is not that kind of feminism. By the end of the book, I felt like the author was telling a morality tale that was directed at women only.
Not that there was any misandry in it or anything. No. Just exclusion. And that's fine, if you go for that sort of thing. My disappointment stems from the fact that the author chose fairy tales, which are the most universal of all literary genres, to tell a tale meant for a very limited audience.
That being said, I'd read another of these novels-in-verse by Jane Yolen any day!
February 3, 2019
I aspire to be Baba Yaga one day. I’ll have to remember to look into this “Ask Baba Yaga” column that Yolen mentions in her foreword. I think it would be quite helpful, since Baba Yaga gives beyond sage advice.
Such a brilliant idea/story/tale to be written in verse. Haunting, beautiful, inspiring, creepy, and thought-provoking.
Just what I needed.
Such a brilliant idea/story/tale to be written in verse. Haunting, beautiful, inspiring, creepy, and thought-provoking.
Just what I needed.
September 1, 2019
A serendipitous ebook find that I really finished in one go literally. The verse was captivating and the stories they said seemed to resonate to my state of being so well.
That Jane Yolen writes poetry well is probably an understatement. She is an author as well I just discovered - will look for her other work.
Recommended highly for a quick bite of top class poetry.
That Jane Yolen writes poetry well is probably an understatement. She is an author as well I just discovered - will look for her other work.
Recommended highly for a quick bite of top class poetry.
June 12, 2018
"All I can start with is Once Upon a Time,
that oldest and truest of lies."
that oldest and truest of lies."
November 25, 2021
Jane Yolen is one of those writers I keep meaning to read more of. I've loved what I've read in the past, and this is better, indeed, a spectacular book.
Plotwise, it is good but not extraordinary. Natasha (Tash), a young girl from our time, gets fed up with her parents' fighting and runs away from home. After some time wandering she finds the House on Chicken Legs, where she is welcomed as Baba Yaga's -- protege? servant? something else? At any rate, she starts learning a great deal from the Baba.
Another girl, Vasilisa, comes along, and they become friends. Then comes the Handsome Prince, and everything gets complicated as several fairy tales cross their wires.
The story is told in compact poetry, seemingly written by Natasha. Most of it is neither metrical in the traditional sense, nor rhymed, but "free verse" is not a really apt descriptor: the poems all have clear structure. It's an unusual way to tell a story, because the poems are short, each focused on one event, impression, or idea, so the whole story is built as a sort of mosaic.
Character is at the core: Tash is something of a blank slate for Baba Yaga to write on, but the Baba herself is a masterpiece, wonderful and horrible in equal parts. There is no mistaking that she is the witch that terrified many generations of Russian childern; but at the same time, she is definitely a "Baba", a grandmother-type.
Plotwise, it is good but not extraordinary. Natasha (Tash), a young girl from our time, gets fed up with her parents' fighting and runs away from home. After some time wandering she finds the House on Chicken Legs, where she is welcomed as Baba Yaga's -- protege? servant? something else? At any rate, she starts learning a great deal from the Baba.
Another girl, Vasilisa, comes along, and they become friends. Then comes the Handsome Prince, and everything gets complicated as several fairy tales cross their wires.
The story is told in compact poetry, seemingly written by Natasha. Most of it is neither metrical in the traditional sense, nor rhymed, but "free verse" is not a really apt descriptor: the poems all have clear structure. It's an unusual way to tell a story, because the poems are short, each focused on one event, impression, or idea, so the whole story is built as a sort of mosaic.
Character is at the core: Tash is something of a blank slate for Baba Yaga to write on, but the Baba herself is a masterpiece, wonderful and horrible in equal parts. There is no mistaking that she is the witch that terrified many generations of Russian childern; but at the same time, she is definitely a "Baba", a grandmother-type.
January 11, 2019
I love Jane Yolen. I have since childhood. With over 350 works to her name she is prolific writer that is a must for almost all adolescents. When she is not writing “rip your heart out” historicals like the Devil’s Arithmetic, or cute as a button picture books, she is a master reteller of fairy tales.
Her newest take on retelling is the story of Baba Yaga, the Russian witch that lives in a house with chicken feet, that moves at her will. But this isn’t any retelling, in fact, I don’t think of it as a retelling, more as a companion story.
Natasha, Tash as she prefers, has run away from home. She has run to the woods and into the house of Baba Yaga. There she will experience heartbreak, security, adventure, and hope. But much of this is said between the lines.
This book is entirely in prose, each chapter a few poems long. It has an timeline that feels part of Back to the Future. Tash is modern, lives in the modern world, but once she is with Baba Yaga, it is almost as if time flows backward. When another young woman comes into the house, and seeks her prince, and horseback and drawbridges come into play. The best word I can think to describe this work is interesting. Being in prose leaves so many purposeful holes. Since I was reading a galley, I didn’t have the readers guide at the back, but I almost wanted that, to see if I was getting from the story what the author and publisher were intending.
For all intents and purposes this is a fairy tale, even when the book itself is telling you this is not a fairy tale. It does not have the prince kissing his girl at the end as they ride off into the sunset. It is both that you think and what you don’t think of a fairy tale. Love is not love, but something that can rot both people and stories. The villains are not the over dramatized stereotypical men of these types of tales, but the real people from who you need to escape.
Overall, I liked this book, but am not sure I understand it all. It does not read like Pay the Piper, or Beauty, but like it’s own space alien thing...like a dream where you only remember bits and pieces.
Will this be the book mentioned on Yolen’s tombstone at her death, not even close, but for those of us die hards, it is another tale to spend an afternoon dwelling within.
#MountTBR
#ReadHarder
#Booked2019
#LittenLoveBingo
#NancyDrewChallenge
#BNFantasyChallenge
#KillYourTBR
#SFFTBRChallenge
Her newest take on retelling is the story of Baba Yaga, the Russian witch that lives in a house with chicken feet, that moves at her will. But this isn’t any retelling, in fact, I don’t think of it as a retelling, more as a companion story.
Natasha, Tash as she prefers, has run away from home. She has run to the woods and into the house of Baba Yaga. There she will experience heartbreak, security, adventure, and hope. But much of this is said between the lines.
This book is entirely in prose, each chapter a few poems long. It has an timeline that feels part of Back to the Future. Tash is modern, lives in the modern world, but once she is with Baba Yaga, it is almost as if time flows backward. When another young woman comes into the house, and seeks her prince, and horseback and drawbridges come into play. The best word I can think to describe this work is interesting. Being in prose leaves so many purposeful holes. Since I was reading a galley, I didn’t have the readers guide at the back, but I almost wanted that, to see if I was getting from the story what the author and publisher were intending.
For all intents and purposes this is a fairy tale, even when the book itself is telling you this is not a fairy tale. It does not have the prince kissing his girl at the end as they ride off into the sunset. It is both that you think and what you don’t think of a fairy tale. Love is not love, but something that can rot both people and stories. The villains are not the over dramatized stereotypical men of these types of tales, but the real people from who you need to escape.
Overall, I liked this book, but am not sure I understand it all. It does not read like Pay the Piper, or Beauty, but like it’s own space alien thing...like a dream where you only remember bits and pieces.
Will this be the book mentioned on Yolen’s tombstone at her death, not even close, but for those of us die hards, it is another tale to spend an afternoon dwelling within.
#MountTBR
#ReadHarder
#Booked2019
#LittenLoveBingo
#NancyDrewChallenge
#BNFantasyChallenge
#KillYourTBR
#SFFTBRChallenge
June 3, 2018
I was super psyched to receive a galley of this YA book at BEA 2018 and it didn’t disappoint. Poor home life, runaway teen and a modern retelling of the infamous witch Baba Yaga — and it’s written in verse! This is quite the atmospheric fairy tale with descriptive verse that is concise and effective to the reader. Natasha was an easy character to relate to. The story was short, but packed a memorable punch. I can’t wait to see the illustrations that are supposed to be included in the final version. I’m not sure how I personally feel about the ending and that is my hesitation on 5 stars.
Read
December 17, 2018There were some strong poems about Natasha and her perspective. I could relate. But I didn't find Baba Yaga, and I didn't feel that the book was really about her. I thought that it was really about the need of the author and readers to project ourselves and our concerns on to fairy tales. This means that fairy tales change for us as we change.
February 5, 2020
This definitely had a slower start, and I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the story, especially since reading verse is harder for me. But, once Baba Yaga made an appearance, this story really became something special.
I loved how modern society and something old and enchanting were interwoven here. It was beautiful and dark and magical.
I loved how modern society and something old and enchanting were interwoven here. It was beautiful and dark and magical.
April 9, 2021
A beautiful mix of modern and myth woven together in verse. The frightening balanced out with the humorous, and we see Baba Yaga from a side not always presented in popular folklore retellings.
I loved that Koschei the Deathless comes for tea and to complain about the state of the world.
I loved that Koschei the Deathless comes for tea and to complain about the state of the world.
September 30, 2018
This was a very beautiful yet sometimes confusing read. By the end I pretty much grasped the overall concept but while reading I had some rough patches.
November 11, 2018
I don’t normally read things like this but it was very enjoyable.
April 11, 2022
3.5*
Interesting merge of an ancient folktale(Baba Yaga) and the story of a modern girl who runs away from home unable to bear the strife of her parents'relationship.
It's told in verse which I found very interesting. The references to well known fairytales and how this one is different were good.
Interesting merge of an ancient folktale(Baba Yaga) and the story of a modern girl who runs away from home unable to bear the strife of her parents'relationship.
It's told in verse which I found very interesting. The references to well known fairytales and how this one is different were good.
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