The Sisters of the Winter Wood
Ratings11
Average rating2.9
15
Ratings11
Average rating2.9
Captivating and boldly imaginative, with a tale of sisterhood at its heart, Rena Rossner's debut fantasy invites you to enter a world filled with magic, folklore, and the dangers of the woods. "With luscious and hypnotic prose, Rena Rossner tells a gripping, powerful story of family, sisterhood, and two young women trying to find their way in the world." --Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles and Circe In a remote village surrounded by vast forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami's babka and the low rumble of their Tati's prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell - despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And this is not the only danger lurking in the woods. As dark forces close in on their village, Liba and Laya discover a family secret passed down through generations. Faced with a magical heritage they never knew existed, the sisters realize the old fairy tales are true...and could save them all. Praise for The Sisters of the Winter Wood: Publishers Weekly: Best Book of 2018: SF/Fantasy/HorrorBookPage: Best Book of 2018: Science Fiction & Fantasy "Intricately crafted, gorgeously rendered...full of heart, history, and enchantment." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A richly detailed story of Jewish identity and sisterhood... emotionally charged, full of sharp historical detail and well-deployed Yiddish phrases...Ambitious and surprising." --Kirkus
Reviews with the most likes.
A beautiful story, weaving fairytale, history, and Jewish identity together so well. The writing was immersive and engaging and kept me wanting to read, like a good fairytale. Such a great debut!
A very fun story full of folklore and history. It's fine YA fairytale.
Wasn't a fan :( I had high hopes, but unfortunately, I felt no connection to any of the characters and the majority of their decisions were absolutely random. Probably I would have enjoyed it more if it was shorter, with no verses, and with a less anti-climatic ending.
This book started as a retelling of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market. It was set in the author's East European Jewish roots, and the story was woven into several Slavic and East European tales, legends, myths, and folklore. We get a sort of magical realist story of two sisters, whose father is a bear and whose mother is a swan. One of the daughters, the oldest, inherits the father's shape, and the youngest inherits the mother's shape. The parents must leave their daughters alone for some time, which in itself wouldn't be a problem, as they are almost 18 and 16, and they have friends and allies in the village close by. The problem arises when mysterious fruit sellers arrive at the village, and things start happening. The setting and how the author deals with it reminds me very much of [b:Small Favors 55835986 Small Favors Erin A. Craig https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604853261l/55835986.SY75.jpg 76987783], but in this book, the siblings aren't warring. It is very much a coming-of-age story, and very much a story of love. One could take it as a YA romance novel, but I see it as much more than that. It is about families, the importance of love between spouses, siblings, generations, neighbors, and strangers, and of all kinds of love, not just erotic, romantic love. That is there, sure, but it's not the main focus. It is also a story of being oneself and loving oneself. The power of truth and openness. They also talk about the nasty things that happened in Europe to Jewish people. And... still happen in some form. Antisemitism and blood libel is alive and well even in today's world.
