"Be careful of the moon, little Sophie," Ivan Ivanovich whispered. "It will bewitch you. Before you know it, you can no longer live in the day, but only in the world of dreams."
Quotation taken from p76 of The Wolf Princess
There is still some snow on the ground in Yorkshire tonight and it has been freezing cold all day. It is the kind of weather that makes me want to snuggle up by the fire with a great book, so that is exactly what I have been doing. The Wolf Princess has held me captive for much of the day and I feel like I have been on a magical journey to a vast snowy land. I have always loved snowy, wintry novels and this one is based loosely on the Russian fairytale The Snow Maiden.
It tells the story of Sophie Smith; an unremarkable girl who has spent her life living in poverty. She is the poor girl who lives in a boarding school among wealthier girls, and she feels a little out of place. Sophie dreams of Russia and so when she is taken there on a school trip, she is over the moon. But the trip doesn't go as planned. Sophie and her two friends are led onto the wrong train by a mysterious Russian woman, who leaves them there to look after themselves. Then they are dumped at a disused rail platform in the middle of the Russian countryside. And that is when their adventure really begins!
This book has everything you could possibly want from a winter's tale; snowy landscape, a winter palace, wolves running through a silver forest, secrets and mysteries, hot tea sweetened with cherries...I can't really say too much without giving things away, but it is real treat to read. The novel is very lyrical in the writing style and the frozen air of Russia is described as being like breathing in 'peppermint and diamonds'. It is a very pretty book to read, conjuring up vivid images of a lost Russia, pre-Revolution and the wealthy estates that are all but forgotten.
This novel is very shimmery and glimmering on the page - by that I mean that everything is white from the pure white steam train that rescues the girls, to the white wolves that howl in the snowscape of the Winter Palace at night. Sophie is given a coat and slippers of silver to wear and a white diamond ring, for safe keeping. There are swinging chandeliers that glimmer, ice-skating picnics on a frozen lake, and a very glamorous lady of the winter palace.
It's all so fresh and festive, with shimmering jewels and whispered tales of missing diamonds. But there is also a dashing military man who is not quite what he seems and a young stable boy who is forbidden to speak to Sophie and her friends. The Winter Palace is full of mysteries that Sophie must unravel to discover the truth about the Princess, the Palace, the diamonds and even, herself. Its a fantastic novel and though it is aimed at teens, its such a good story and so beautifully written, anyone of any age can enjoy it. So if you like wintry, magical books you will love The Wolf Princess. I couldn't put it down and it has left me feeling as sparkly as a brillianty, in much the same way as the book Sun & Moon, Ice & Snow did. It makes me want to travel to a cold, snowy country and spend Christmas or my birthday there one year. You can buy or download The Wolf Princess by clicking here. Enjoy!
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