The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

Title: The Girl in the Tower

Author: Katherine Arden

Pages: 350

Finished: January 18, 2017

First Sentence: A girl rode a bay horse through a forest late at night.

Summary: Vasya has left her village, forced to flee when the villagers brand her a witch. She disguises herself as a boy and sets off to be a traveler. Of course, things have a funny way of going wrong, and she runs into her brother and sister while saving some girls from a troupe of bandits. Throughout it all, a strange boyer seems taken with her, and the Grand Prince is in danger of going to war with the Mongols.

Thoughts: This was a significantly quicker read than the last one. There wasn't as much set up, so I didn't have the slog I often find in many books. Vasya is brave and strong, if a bit rash and naive. There were times that I wanted to yell at her to think about what she was doing, but overall, I loved her. The priest, Konstantin, is still a horrible man. I disliked Olga quite a lot, though the poor woman was only following what was set forth for aristocratic women at the time. I don't think I'd survive well in medieval Russia.

These books make we want to learn more about Russian history as well as brush up on my Russian folktales.