Review--Dreaming Anastasia

ANASTASIA ROMANOV,

THE DAUGHTER OF THE LAST TSAR OF RUSSIA, IS BELIEVED TO BE DEAD BY THE WORLD. BUT SHE IS ALIVE, AND WHEN SHE SLEEPS SHE DREAMS.

ANNE MICHAELSON

DOESN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT RUSSIAN HISTORY: SHE IS MORE WORRIED ABOUT GETTING INTO A GOOD COLLEGE. BUT THEN THE DREAMS START...

In her dreams Anne is somewhere else. She is someone else. The dreams seem as real as her waking life, and they terrify her. Then a stranger offers to explain them--a boy who by all appearances is her age. He claims he has been waiting for someone who can help save Anastasia. And through him, Anne sees: you don't need to be imprisoned to be trapped.

Finished Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble today. And just before I had to go into work! This was a book I won in a contest and I finally got around to reading it and it wasn't half bad.

The history behind Anastasia Romanov has always intrigued me on some level. I don't know that much about it. I saw the cartoon movie as a kid, so that's pretty much my knowledge right there, except for the fantasy bits not being true.

And there is a lot of history put into the story. We get to learn about some details of Anastasia. I want to say they're true, but don't know for certain. How much was writing on the author's part and how much was research.

The novel also brings in the fairy tale Baba Yaga, which I distantly recall as well. There was a great twisting of fairy tale and historical info into this book and intertwined with the characters in a modern day setting.

It was a little complicated at first and at certain points, because there would be what felt like history lessons. It wasn't too bad, it was just that not all the info was familiar and some of it was, but I couldn't decipher what was fact from fiction. So it made reading a little complicated at times. Another thing that sort of complicated things was when the narrator changed and the time changed. Mostly the story is told through Anne and Ethan--the mysterious boy. And there is a day and time stamped at the beginning. Which was fine, but it got more complicated when Anastasia, who is being held by Baba Yaga somewhere, narrated for a short chapter.

The setup of it is easy to understand, but just when you get comfortable with a character it changes and possibly the time as well. But it didn't happen too much. It was just a few little things like that, that bothered me about the novel. Otherwise it was very interesting.

There is definitely a nice buildup of mystery here. We don't really know who Ethan is at first or why he's interested in Anne. There is a brief idea thrown around, but we don't understand it completely until he explains things to Anne.

Anne is quite the character too. She reacts very realistically to her situations when they come up. For there are quite a few unbelievable ideas for her to accept and she doesn't do so right away, which is something real.

Her best friend, Tess, was a riot! I love that girl! She really knows how to lightened the mood and say whatever she's thinking, regardless of how appropriate it may be! She was there to ease the tension when it built up. She was also a very devoted friend to Anne and she proves this through her actions and words several times.

There was a bit of a budding romance between Anne and Ethan, but it didn't get too far. Really the book takes place in about two days or so. Two days where the main action takes place at least. There was probably a day or so of the buildup, but the pacing was incredible. So much happens and we get to see this with the time stamp at the beginning of each chapter.

There is a bit of magic involved, which is expected since fairy tales come into the picture and it wouldn't be complete without some!

Lots of deep dark secrets too! They intertwine with the mystery bits and it was all very shocking! Some of it got a little too deep, twisted and confusing, but they were still shockers! A little out there, but still shocking!

The ending was fantastic! While you can see some of it coming, the total outcome I didn't see coming at all! It was amazing! And there was just enough of a cliffhanger in the end to make me want to know what's going to happen with Anne next!

Overall I give it 3 1/2 /5 stars. Closer to 4, but some of the historical facts really threw me through a loop at times. But still it was a very GREAT read. Really enjoyable. One I highly recommend if you like fairy tales and some history--mainly pertaining to Anastasia of course!

Haunted, is her next novel in the series and it releases February 1, 2011