Review
Anne is sixteen-years-old and even though her family is still recovering from the loss of her brother to cancer two years ago, she still maintains a typical teenage life. She hangs out with her best friend, Tess, stresses over school work, and takes an advanced ballet class. While attending a performance of Swan Lake, she learns that not everything in the world can be explained. From this night on, she is thrust into a world involving danger, betrayal, and magic.
Ethan is a member of the Brotherhood, a group created in the early 1900’s to protect Tsar Nicholas II and his family. He is intent on finding the girl destined to release the Grand Duchess Anastasia from captivity where she has been since the assassination of her family. Anastasia is stuck at age seventeen until she can be released from Baba Yaga, a witch from Russian Folklore, just like Ethan is stuck at eighteen until he can release her. After almost one hundred years, Ethan has finally found the girl who can help him – Anne.
Anne dreamed of Anastasia even before Ethan came into her life. Anne is in the basement with the Romanov family looking through Anastasia’s eyes as her family is being murdered in front of her. She knows there is something strange about what happened to Anastasia, but doesn’t know enough to put the pieces together. What she witnesses during the dreams doesn’t make sense in a realistic world. When Ethan approaches Anne, she must make the decision whether or not to believe him and if she is going to help him or not. She finds out that she holds more than one life in her hands.
DREAMING ANASTASIA is a book that blends the present and the past in such a way it is seamless. The alternating points of view of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia create a clear picture for the reader. The inclusion of handwritten letters from Anastasia to all of her family members gives the reader the historical background needed to understand the plot of this creative story. Once you start reading, you won’t want to put the book down. You’ll want to start researching the Romanov family as soon as you are finished.
Ethan is a member of the Brotherhood, a group created in the early 1900’s to protect Tsar Nicholas II and his family. He is intent on finding the girl destined to release the Grand Duchess Anastasia from captivity where she has been since the assassination of her family. Anastasia is stuck at age seventeen until she can be released from Baba Yaga, a witch from Russian Folklore, just like Ethan is stuck at eighteen until he can release her. After almost one hundred years, Ethan has finally found the girl who can help him – Anne.
Anne dreamed of Anastasia even before Ethan came into her life. Anne is in the basement with the Romanov family looking through Anastasia’s eyes as her family is being murdered in front of her. She knows there is something strange about what happened to Anastasia, but doesn’t know enough to put the pieces together. What she witnesses during the dreams doesn’t make sense in a realistic world. When Ethan approaches Anne, she must make the decision whether or not to believe him and if she is going to help him or not. She finds out that she holds more than one life in her hands.
DREAMING ANASTASIA is a book that blends the present and the past in such a way it is seamless. The alternating points of view of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia create a clear picture for the reader. The inclusion of handwritten letters from Anastasia to all of her family members gives the reader the historical background needed to understand the plot of this creative story. Once you start reading, you won’t want to put the book down. You’ll want to start researching the Romanov family as soon as you are finished.
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