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.
