egg & spoon

A fantasy set in Tsarist Russia.
Elena Rudina lives in the impoverished Russian countryside. Her father has been dead for years. One of her brothers has been conscripted into the Tsar’s army, the other taken as a servant in the house of the local landowner. Her mother is dying, slowly, in their tiny cabin. And there is no food. But then a train arrives in the village, a train carrying untold wealth, a cornucopia of food, and a noble family destined to visit the Tsar in Saint Petersburg — a family that includes Ekaterina, a girl of Elena’s age. When the two girls’ lives collide, an adventure is set in motion, an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and — in a starring role only Gregory Maguire could have conjured — Baba Yaga, witch of Russian folklore, in her ambulatory house perched on chicken legs - Goodreads

I liked this book, but I felt like Gregory Maguire got bored and just started adding odd content into this story. It started out great and then he just went overboard with little details that didn't add anything but a distraction from the story. Baba Yaga is an amazing character, but I could have done without the modern references. The Far Side reference was weird. It's a fun read, but annoying at times. rating: 3 stars