Katherine Arden's bestselling debut novel spins an irresistible spell as it announces the
arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice. "A beautiful deep-winter story full of
magic and monsters and the sharp edges of growing up."-Naomi Novik bestselling author of
Uprooted Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness and in the long
nights Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse's fairy
tales. Above all Vasya loves the story of Frost the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians
fear him for he claims unwary souls and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from
evil. Then Vasya's widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout
Vasya's stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits but Vasya fears
what this may bring. And indeed misfortune begins to stalk the village. But Vasya's
stepmother only grows harsher determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her
rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village's defenses weaken and evil
from the forest creeps nearer Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long
concealed-to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse's most frightening
tales. Praise for The Bear and the Nightingale "Arden's debut novel has the cadence of a
beautiful fairy tale but is darker and more lyrical."-The Washington Post "Vasya [is] a clever
stalwart girl determined to forge her own path in a time when women had few choices."-The
Christian Science Monitor "Stunning . . . will enchant readers from the first page. . . . with
an irresistible heroine who wants only to be free of the bonds placed on her gender and claim
her own fate."-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Utterly bewitching . . . a lush narrative .
. . an immersive earthy story of folk magic faith and hubris peopled with vivid dynamic
characters particularly clever brave Vasya who outsmarts men and demons alike to save her
family."-Booklist (starred review) "An extraordinary retelling of a very old tale . . . The
Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderfully layered novel of family and the harsh wonders of deep
winter magic."-Robin Hobb
