Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter (review)

Vassa knows that heading into a cavorting, blindingly bright convenience store surrounded by heads on stakes is a terrible idea, but she does it anyway. At least she has the foresight to bring along Erg, a tiny magical doll that has been her constant companion since her mother died. In spite of her cleverness, Vassa does indeed nearly get caught shoplifting after being tricked in the store, and she’s trapped into making a deal with Babs (of course, the formidable and fascinating Baba Yaga) to stay and work three nights to earn her freedom. It’s clear right away these aren’t even or fair odds as impossible tasks keep popping up, but Vassa’s got Erg, whose bold, sassy attitude won’t allow for even a hint of self-pity or hopelessness. Vassa’s life and emotions are a mess, but she knows she’s pretty much screwed unless she applies every bit of intelligence she’s got to her next three nights, so she dives in, taking help from Erg to save her skin and, if possible, her city. Porter takes the bones of the Russian folktale “Vassilissa the Beautiful” and adds creative, compelling details to make it work for a much older audience, placing it in an imagined New York. There’s an extraordinary amount packed into this novel—romance, grief, magic, humor, danger, and battles for self-acceptance—and it’s a feat that somehow all of those threads get their due; readers will leave contemplative, relieved, and likely interested in a reread to catch more of the early details, knowing what they learned by the end.