A Question of Magic by E.D. Baker
Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN 9781408839294.
(Age: 10+) Themes: Magic, Fantasy. Author E. D. Baker's A Question
of Magic is a complex retelling of the Baba Yaga story. Serafina
receives a letter from her great-aunt with special instructions on
how she can collect her inheritance. Her destiny is to become the
next Baba Yaga, when someone asks her a question she must answer it
truthfully and every time she does she grows older. She is trapped
in a magical cottage that moves on chicken legs, lives with an
ageless talking cat and a variety of skulls and bones. Her life
becomes difficult when she is kidnapped and travels to the nearby
kingdoms meeting fairies, nymphs, giants and kings, who all want to
profit from Fina's special ability.
She is a passive protagonist who isn't able to stand up to the
constant dramas in her life, her only desire is to escape, return to
her village, marry Alek the blacksmith's son and live happily ever
after.
This fantasy novel is suited for competent readers from 10 years of
age.
Rhyllis Bignell