Nevertell

The first third of this book follows our heroine Lina as she survives and then escapes from a Stalin-era labor camp in Siberia. This section is as dreary and grim as potato peels, with only the slightest hint that anything magical or fantastic is about to happen.

The second third tells of Lina’s escape into the Siberian forest and then her capture by a Snow Queen, Baba Yaga character. This is gripping and fun in a mythical, folk tale, fabulous adventure sort of way.

The final third of the book takes us back to the labor camp, ties up lots of plot loose ends, and gets very Earth magic, Earth motherish, Chosen One, though not necessarily in a bad way.

Scenes are well set and the characters are strong, although the villains are inconsistent and sort of randomly and inexplicably villainous. The switches in the story make for some dramatic shifts in tone, and even writing style. The Soviet era background was a nice change of pace for such a story, but it seems to me that the drab opening will probably require a fair degree of patience on the part of a young reader looking for a magical, shadow wolf, snow queen sort of adventure.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Wow – this is definitely an unforgettable middle grade adventure set in the wilds of Siberia outside of a Soviet prison camp. Combining Russian folklore, history, adventure, and friendship; this unique story is instantly compelling. Twelve year old Lina was born in a Soviet prison camp. Her mother, her uncle, and her grandfather had been sent to live in the camp when her grandfather told “fairy tales” (forbidden) and criticized the great leader. Leaving in the camp is the only thing Lina has ever known. For years she was the only child until a boy her age was sent to the camp. Together along with some prison old timers they devise a plan to escape and try to get to Lina’s grandmother who lives in Moscow. Almost immediately everything goes wrong. Ghost wolves, giant falcons, and shadow people are suddenly very real and more frightening then the prison guards ever were. Will Lina and Bogdan survive? Can she do some magic of her own? Lovely, magical, and compelling. Great for readers of all ages!

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

3.5 stars.

This is a good middle grade adventure story with nice historical elements and a good set of messages. The writing is comfortable and the story is fast paced, with a lot of action sequences and harrowing moments.

The characters were a mixed bag, with Lina, Bogdan, and Katya being well-developed for their particular roles. The Sorceress (Svetlana) and The Commandant (Zima) were problematic for me.

Lina was a wonderful protagonist and showed bravery, thought, and perseverance in difficult situations, lending her to be a good example for young readers. Her relationship with Katya is well-written and I loved the mother-daughter bond that was developed, regardless of how briefly they were used together in the plot. I could have done with more Bogdan in the plot. I felt he was underused and I would have like to have seen more of his friendship with Lina. This component seemed to be more of a tell vs. show element in the novel, which was a little disappointing.

Both Svetlana and Zima seemed to uncomfortably straddle the line of good and evil. They were inconsistent characters and their actions and choices did not always feel believable. Svetlana in particular seemed overly mercurial and I couldn’t align myself with the arc of her character development.

World building was also a bit lacking for my tastes. Though this is a middle grade novel and these pieces are often less involved in that level of work, I would have liked to see more exploration. The development of Svetlana’s world was a little lacking and the explanation of the mist world was very brief. These topics seemed to be peppered in to the plot in a rather awkward way and I would have liked to see them be a bit more seamless.

Regardless of its faults, this is still a good middle grade read and should read well for its intended audiences. I enjoyed my read, found it to be very quick, and liked the messages it explored. The setting was used very well in the development of the plot and the Lina was an ideal protagonist for this particular story.

An enchanting, whirlwind of an adventure. The magic builds slowly and keeps you guessing right up to the final few chapters.

The friendship between Lina and Bogdan is heart warming (and they need as much heat as they can get crossing the frozen wilds of Russia together) and I really liked their devotion to one another, even when one of them got it wrong and the pair got into even deeper trouble.

With whispering stars, freezing words and magical capes, Nevertell whips you up into a ‘snowpocalypse’ you are unlikely to forget.

A perfect January read – now all you need is a snow day!

A magical read.
One that fires the imagination of magic, adventure and friendship.
And its time and setting are so rare in childrens literature that its a refreshing take.

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