Saturday, December 23, 2023

Student Saturday: The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson


Student Reviewer: Jillianna H.
Genre: Middle Grade, Traditional, Fantasy

  Marinka is a red haired girl who is also what is called a yaga. A yaga is someone who is in charge of guiding the dead through The Gate. She lives with her grandma, named Baba, who is also yaga and has been raising Marinka since she was a baby. Marinka's house has chicken legs and moves to a different spot about three times a year. The house does this so that Marinka and Baba can guide the dead.  

   As a baby Marinka used to love playing with her house and helping her grandma guide the dead. But as she gets older, she realizes that she doesn’t want to be yaga or guide the dead. Marinka does everything to try to change her fate of being yaga. She tries to make human friends, which wasn’t allowed, and she even tries to make a ghost friend. All of these events lead to trouble, either for her, Baba, her friends or the house. She ends up having to make a big decision that would risk her life but maybe save another. During this I wasn’t sure whether to think she was being selfish or making the right decision for herself and her future. This is because she wants to do it because she doesn’t want to be a Yaga or guide the dead. There are a ton of risks if she decides to go through with it, and she gets told all of these risks by another yaga but doesn’t mind them and is only thinking about what would be best for her.

  I found this book very entertaining and would recommend this book to everyone who likes stories that have unexpected endings. The book definitely surprised me and kept me on my toes.                             

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