Book Review - Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Dreaming Anastasia
by Joy Preble
Release date September 1, 2009
Sixteen year old Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary – until she smacks into handsome, mysterious, and okay, annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class.
Now Anne has powers she doesn’t understand, a history altering mission she may not want, and a growing attraction to this blue-eyed stranger. And Ethan- who at eighteen made some choices he’s starting to regret – realizes that Anne is the girl for whom he’s been searching – for a very, very long time.

Stir in doomed Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia – who is definitely not quite as dead as the history books say – and Baba Yaga, the legendary witch from Russian folklore, and you’ve got DREAMING ANASTASIA, a contemporary YA fantasy that alternates between the voices of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia as Anne and Ethan join forces to battle the bad guys and save Anastasia. Only problem is – no one’s quite sure who’s really bad and who’s good. And everyone has some secrets.

I wonder how many stories and legends have been written about Anastasia Romonav over the years? If I remember correctly, everything from a primetime miniseries to a children's cartoon! Now we can add a genuinely good young adult novel!

The story of Anastasia is an intriguing one because there are so many theories and opinions regarding what really happened to her and her family. Take that and add a paranormal twist...well can it get any better?

I really enjoyed the added addition of the witch Baba Yaga and how the author tied this bit of Russian folklore into Anastasia's history, it really adds to the depth of the story. This book has a little bit of everything...a mystery, a bad guy, love and magic...sure to please a variety of readers!

An original story and great writing make this a sure hit, I totally recommend it!