The Baba Yaga Mask

This book’s premise called to me, being born in Ukraine myself, I felt compelled to hear this story and connect with it. I prefer to read in audio anyway, so I was excited to get to review this audiobook. The narrator has a lovely voice, and does accents well. But she’s a bit soft spoken and whispery, and I find myself having to turn my phone volume all the way up to listen to this book, which of course affects all the other apps. I still found it an enjoyable listen. The story is told in alternating POV between the two sisters seeking their grandmother, and back in time showing their grandmother’s life during ww2. I will say the switching back and forth was not super easy to follow in audio, since the narrator’s voice didn’t really change for the characters in the present day or the past. You do have to focus when a new chapter starts to see when you are, and who you are following. What also made this complicated to follow is the narrator pronounced the names Ira and Vera the same (ee-ra and vee-ra). It was very easy to miss which character name was said, which confused whether you were in present day with Ira and Larissa, or in the past with young Vera. I didn’t understand why Baba Vera ran away, or her motivations exactly for leading her granddaughters on this wild goose chase. But I enjoyed learning about Baba Vera and her background in the flashbacks to the past. Reading about the war times in the narration living through it brings complicated feelings but also intrigue. She’s a bit feisty and saucy and I enjoyed getting to know her. I didn’t as much enjoy the sisters in present day, but enjoyed their travels and cultural exploration. It was interesting how they navigate these foreign countries, seeing their origins and struggling with language barriers but finding their way to follow their grandmother’s trail. Dealing with travel issues, fortunes and misfortunes, does make for an interesting story, though it is very much a journey trope. There were also plot lines that seemed just thrown in there, but not otherwise resolved or worked to develop the character or their motivation. I enjoyed most of all the sisters retelling stories they grew up with, stories that I grew up with. So much enjoyable nostalgia! When the sisters find their grandmother, the reunion is sweet, and it was nice to find family members together again. But, I didn’t understand why this whole journey had to happen. Why is Baba Vera there? Did I miss something?

This is a decent story but didn't really get a mythic feel. I got more into the parts about their grandmother's story during the war than the story of the girls looking for their grandmother.