The Bear and the Nightingale

Katherine ArdenΓÇÖs bestselling debut novel spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice. ΓÇ£A beautiful deep-winter story,full of magic and monsters and the sharp edges of growing up.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöNaomi Novikbestselling author of Uprooted Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wildernessand in the long nightsVasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurseΓÇÖs fairy tales. Above allVasya loves the story of Frostthe blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear himfor he claims unwary soulsand they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil. Then VasyaΓÇÖs widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devoutVasyaΓÇÖs stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spiritsbut Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeedmisfortune begins to stalk the village. But VasyaΓÇÖs stepmother only grows harsherdetermined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the villageΓÇÖs defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearerVasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealedΓÇöto protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurseΓÇÖs most frightening tales. Praise for The Bear and the Nightingale ΓÇ£ArdenΓÇÖs debut novel has the cadence of a beautiful fairy tale but is darker and more lyrical.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöThe Washington Post ΓÇ£Vasya [is] a cleverstalwart girl determined to forge her own path in a time when women had few choices.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöThe Christian Science Monitor ΓÇ£Stunning . . . will enchant readers from the first page. . . . with an irresistible heroine who wants only to be free of the bonds placed on her gender and claim her own fate.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöPublishers Weekly (starred review) ΓÇ£Utterly bewitching . . . a lush narrative . . . an immersiveearthy story of folk magicfaithand hubrispeopled with vividdynamic charactersparticularly cleverbrave Vasyawho outsmarts men and demons alike to save her family.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöBooklist (starred review) ΓÇ£An extraordinary retelling of a very old tale . . . The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderfully layered novel of family and the harsh wonders of deep winter magic.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöRobin Hobb