I would like to share a new young adult novel with you called Elena the Brave (Old Rus Tales Book 2 )by Julie Mathison (Author) that I received from Voracious Readers in exchange for this review. Inside this post are my affiliate links if you click on the links and make a purchase I will make a small percentage from the items you purchase.
This book is clean enough to share it with our children who might enjoy fantasy, folklore, dragons and a little ahem lot of kissing but nothing more than that. This can also be described as a coming-of age story that once Charlie sat down to read found fascinating and he said he can’t wait to read the other books in the series.
Everyone is different and book two can be read as a stand-alone I would recommend reading book one first and since we didn’t know it existed I plan on purchasing it for our Homeschool Reading Class and having Charlie read book one and then re-read book two because the story would make more sense to us because the main character grows up during her adventures.
Elena like a lot of children thinks the world of her mother and wishes she could be as supportive and giving to others in need, but she has her hands full with twins, who cause more trouble than even she could ever imagine. And it’s this beginning which sets the stage to launch into the rest of the adventure as you follow Vasilisa’s daughter Elena, who is seems to be about 15 just one year younger than my son and his friends.
Elena is of Russian descent and lives in a Pennsylvania steel town during World War II with her parents and Babka, her great-grandmother who sings her the tales of Old Rus. Elena is a remarkable girl. When she gazes on her black and smooth pet rock, she has visions of the steppes, villages and people of Old Rus, especially a handsome lad named Mitya. This world calls to Elena, and she finds the determination and courage to leave her own world. Bringing us to the story of myth, magic and growing up.
About the book:
KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW: “A vivid mix of history, romance, and folklore with a notably relatable hero.”
WINNER: 2023 Writer’s Digest Best YA Novel Self-pub eBook Award
Old Rus, a land of witches and ogres, bogatyr warriors and six-headed dragons, magic and myth. A land lurking below the waking world, a fabled land – except for the chosen few.
It’s 1942, and the world is at war. Elena is just a schoolgirl in a Pennsylvania steel town, the Russia of her forebears long forgotten – except in tales, sung by her babka in haunting tones. Elena can picture Old Rus clearly, the snow-swollen Dnepr, winding through the steppe all the way to Byzantium. Vladimir of the Bright sun, ruling from glorious Kiev!. If only it were real.
Be careful what you wish for.
Meanwhile, Old Rus is in crisis. A dragon flies, a maiden is captured, and the great bogatyr, Dobrynya, is tasked with her rescue. But his son, Mitya, senses treachery on all sides. How can you save a man who will not save himself? And must he venture alone, trailing his father across the steppe where warring nomads range, even to the distant peaks of the Sorochinsk Mountains? He is prepared to do just that when Elena appears in the prince’s stables and upends all his plans.
What happens when two worlds – and hearts – collide?
Meet the Author: Julie Mathison
Julie Mathison (1969 – ) spent her first ten years moving with her bohemian family from state to state — Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, California and eventually Oregon, where they settled in Eugene. She credits these years with instilling in her a love of imagination and other things that are free. After earning a B.A. in English and law degree she went on to a variety of professions: lawyer, educational consultant, non-profit worker, financial advisor, and, finally, novelist.
Winner of the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Best Middle Reader, First Horizon Award for Debut Books, Best Books Award from American Book Fest for Children’s Fiction, Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-book for Best YA Novel, and two-time BookLife Prize Semifinalist, she seeks to transport and enrich readers with her books while entertaining them.
Her novels, whether coming-of-age, fantasy or mystery, all contain elements of history and emphasize complex themes and a love of language. Her philosophy is “books not boxes,” founded on the belief that a good book should transcend genre and category, and should be enjoyable and interesting to readers of all ages, much like the classic works of literature she read and loved as a child.
She also blogs about analog values examining the digital age through the lens of 20th century values. Visit her there and join the conversation, or contact her through her author site:
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
