Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

40217647. sy475 This was a fantastic middle grade Slavic folklore fantasy tale. I was enamored through the whole book.

 The cover was really what drew me to this ARC--and my current love of Slavic folktales. The end result was very worth it.

 The writing is youthful and whimsical while being sturdy and serious when needed. Anya and Ivan were fantastic characters with the foibles of youth but not the agonizing angst.

 The intrigue was strong enough to pull me along the story (to the point I finished the entire book in one day, much to the chagrin of all my chores around the house), but not overly complicated to lose the younger reader.

 I found the balance of this book for entertaining youth and the parents who will read it alongside their children to be top notch and highly recommend this story to all fable lovers. Oh, and there are dragons. Come on, who doesn't love dragons?

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