So, I love Russia, and that is primarily why I picked up this book in the first place. I am very happy to report that I did not come away disappointed. The fairytale was so well carried out--weirdness and all--and the writing style was absolutely phenomenal. 
 Every once in a while, I tend to hit a YA reading slump; so many YA books have lazy prose and are not well-written at all, published (it seems to me) only because there's a hot love interest and a handful of steamy scenes. This novel restored my faith in YA. 
 Books for younger audiences can still have layers of meaning, they can still be beautifully crafted works of art. Literature need not be dumbed down for teenagers--and it shouldn't be, or else kids will never want to branch out into the classics. This was a wonderful, delightful read, and I enjoyed it immensely because it was so unique in a world of special snowflakes and trashy romance novels. Porter wrote some art and made it available to the public. It felt like a Russian fairytale rather than simply the retelling of one.