Vassa in the Night
core novel 2016 Vassa in the Night
Record
| First published | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.44 (6,702 ratings, collected 2026-08-27) |
| Page count | 296 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765380548 |
Synopsis
Vassa in the Night is a retelling of the Russian folktale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" set in an enchanted, present-day Brooklyn where magic exists at the margins of ordinary life. Vassa, a teenager who feels out of place among her stepmother and stepsisters, gets into a confrontation with one of her stepsisters that sends her out at night on an errand to Baba Yaga's, a local convenience store notorious for beheading shoplifters, guilty and innocent alike. Armed only with a small magical wooden doll named Erg, a keepsake left to her by her late mother, Vassa must survive the dangerous errand, relying on Erg's cleverness -- and her tendency toward theft -- for whatever protection the doll's fading magic can offer. The novel follows Vassa's attempt to escape Baba Yaga's grasp against a backdrop of mysteriously lengthening nights encroaching on her neighborhood.
Where it sits
- Universe: Vassa in the Night
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Sarah Porter
Notes
- A young-adult urban-fantasy retelling of the Russian Baba Yaga folk tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful," relocated to a surreal, increasingly warped modern Brooklyn.
Sources
← Vassa in the Night dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.