The Wolf Princess

by Cathryn Constable

Published 4 October 2012 Chicken House

This is the perfect children's Winter read, atmospheric, magical, chilly and exciting. Yes, the cover is girly and my copy had purple spredges - not only v.cool but made it super easy to find in my bag.

Orphan Sophie always felt drawn to the country of Russia, fascinated by it's history and culture so you can imagine how thrilled she was to be chosen to visit St. Petersburg on a school trip!

She and her friends set off on the long journey and upon arrival are met by Dr. Galina Starova who puts the children on a train to continue their journey - only the train is moving away from St. Petersburg and the rest of their school party.

When Dr. Starova abandons them on the train, the girls are thrown off into the deep snow in the middle of nowhere. They eventually find a cabin to stay in overnight - tired, afraid, so very cold.

The sound of sleigh bells awaken them and an offer of refuge comes from Princess Anna Feodorovna Volkensky at her Winter Palace - but is everything as it seems and is the offer of help from the Princess too good to be true?

I really enjoyed the wonderful, evocative descriptions of Russia and the scenes of the Volkensky wolves were captivating and exciting. It was a lovely middle grade novel and another good inclusion was a Russian glossary.

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