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Monday, September 7, 2009

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Sixteen year old Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary – until she smacks into handsome, mysterious, and okay, annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class. Now Anne has powers she doesn’t understand, a history altering mission she may not want, and a growing attraction to this blue-eyed stranger. And Ethan- who at eighteen made some choices he’s starting to regret – realizes that Anne is the girl for whom he’s been searching – for a very, very long time. Stir in doomed Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia – who is definitely not quite as dead as the history books say – and Baba Yaga, the legendary witch from Russian folklore, and you’ve got DREAMING ANASTASIA, a contemporary YA fantasy that alternates between the voices of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia as Anne and Ethan join forces to battle the bad guys and save Anastasia. Only problem is – no one’s quite sure who’s really bad and who’s good. And everyone has some secrets.

Review: Being the ignorant person I am, I didn't know of this book until Kate's review and giveaway. But when I did, I knew I just had to get my hands on it, and it wasn't until yesterday that I did. From the first few pages, I was immediately drawn in. With the three point of views present, I could easily distinct one character from another, and that just gives the well written novel an extra thumb up.

As I was reading this book, it actually created an eerie mood for me--but in a good way. I don't think I've ever felt that way with any other book. The only thing I didn't like--which might just be because of my poor eyesight--are Anastasia's letters/journal entries. The font used was too hard to read and I found myself being a bit cross-eyed. But I understood that it was used to represent Anastasia's handwriting so I didn't get irked too much.

When I finished this book--which was really late at night---I couldn't stop thinking about it as I lay in my bed. It was that intriguing. It was simply amazing for a debut novel! I especially loved how it interwines with historical fiction. I am everything, but disappointed with it. Extra kudos to Mrs. Preble!

Read it if you haven't already! :)

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Yay! So glad you liked it. Totally agree with the handwriting... I think that may be the only major flaw with the novel. Oh and if you didn't read it yet in my interwiew with Joy, she is thinking about doing more with Anne, Ethan, and Baba Yaba so I am really excited about that.

Frankie Diane Mallis said...

I almost bought this book today...I think I def will.

Kelsey said...

This book looks great! I think I won it from Kate's giveaway actually! Hopefully I did because it looks so good. Thanks for the review(:

Eleni said...

Great review, this book looks good!

Faye( Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm) said...

i got this book 4 review! glad u like it. Can't wait 2 read it :D

A Passion For Books said...

I finished it late and ended up staying awake too. I agree, the letters from Anastasia were a bit hard to read but I think it added more of a real feel to it. Great review! Glad you liked it.

Literary Deviant said...

Wow I guess I'm ignorant too because I've failed to recognize this book as well. Your review is awesome and I look forward to reading this book.