Today we are thrilled to host the brand new cover reveal for Sarah Porter’s upcoming new novel, Vassa in the Night.
Inspired by the Russian folktale Vassilissa the Beautiful, Vassa in the Night will be published by Tor Teen in September 2016. Without further ado, behold! The beautiful cover!
About the book
In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.
In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yaga, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.
But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair. . . .
Inspired by the Russian folktale Vassilissa the Beautiful and Sarah Porter’s years of experience teaching creative writing to New York City students, Vassa in the Night weaves a dark yet hopeful tale about a young girl’s search for home, love, and belonging.
EARLY BUZZ: “Bizarre, beautiful, and richly imagined. Sarah Porter weaves a dark, thoroughly modern fairy tale crackling with wit and magical mayhem that would make Baba Yaga proud.”—Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of the Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows
“An enchantingly twisted modern fairy tale, perfect for those who prefer Grimm to Disney. Inventive, darkly magical, and beautifully written, it will stay with me for a long time.” —Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in Blood and The Goddess War trilogy
About the Author
Sarah Porter is a writer, artist, and freelance teacher who lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two cats. She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from City College.
Author Website: http://www.sarahporterbooks.com/
Author Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SarahPorterAuthor/
Author Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4579328.Sarah_Porter
The Giveaway
Courtesy of the publisher, we have an ARC up for grabs! (NOTE–ARCs aren’t quite ready yet but they will be sent out as soon as they arrive in February.) The giveaway is open to all! To enter, please use the form below. Good luck!
37 Comments
Mary A
January 14, 2016 at 12:56 pmThat is really hard. Currently Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
Laura Hartman (@LH171)
January 14, 2016 at 1:05 pmI love folktales, this looks really interesting.
mcf
January 14, 2016 at 1:12 pmIf non-books are allowed, I think mine is probably the Magnificent Seven, a retelling of Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai.
Gerd D.
January 14, 2016 at 2:06 pmCouldn’t name a book from top of my head, if movies go I’d say Orfeu Negro.
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy
January 14, 2016 at 2:55 pmMy most recent favorite retelling would be Uprooted, but I know I’ve read so many. This cover is gorgeous! Can’t wait to read it:-)
Kira @ Horror Novel Reviews
January 14, 2016 at 3:42 pmThis looks amazing!
Lan
January 14, 2016 at 5:10 pmFavorite retelling(s) would probably be the Valor anthology edited by Isabelle Melancon and Megan Lavey-Heaton. You should read it (it’s AMAZING), peopled with badass women, kind women, awesome female protagonists galore!
Marina
January 14, 2016 at 5:46 pmMy favorite retelling is Thorn by Intisar Khanani. It’s based on Goose Girl and it is fantastic. Highly recommend checking it out.
Amber Terry
January 14, 2016 at 6:26 pmI don’t have a personal favorite, but this one sounds really interesting. Thanks for the chance to win!
Anonymous
January 14, 2016 at 8:53 pmI do very much love fairy tales, and Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson is one favorite!
C.N. Rowen
January 14, 2016 at 9:06 pmI have to say that the cleverest re-telling I’ve read and enjoyed is Uprooted. It’s both got an air of timeless, but is completely fresh.
Kristy
January 14, 2016 at 10:44 pmThere are SO many! I think one of my favorites is Entwined by Heather Dixon. I also just read The Toymaker’s Apprentice by Sherri Smith, and it was pretty awesome, too. The cover of this book is gorgeous! Can’t wait to read it!
Rachel
January 15, 2016 at 12:18 amDeathless by Catherynne M Valente and Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson are definitely favorites. A Thousand Nights by EK Johnston is a recent favorite as well.
Abbie Mclean
January 15, 2016 at 2:08 amMy fave retelling is The Wrath and the Dawn!!!
Sigoalentq
January 15, 2016 at 2:08 amGenevieve Valentine’s Girls at the Kingfisher Club is one of my current favorite retellings, but it’s hard to choose!
Mary Preston
January 15, 2016 at 3:37 amMy favorite is a BEAUTY AND THE BEAST re-telling – HEART’S BLOOD by Juliet Marillier
Nikki Egerton
January 15, 2016 at 5:43 amThis sounds brilliant! I’m reading the Lunar Chronicles at the moment, by Marissa Meyer and really enjoying the fresh take on familiar fairy tale characters. I also loved A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sara J Maas, which is a twist on the Beauty and the Beast story.
Vanessa
January 15, 2016 at 9:39 amI love retellings so /much it’s hard to pick a favorite. I’ll settle for the first one to enter my life. Robin McKinley’s Beauty is the first one I ever remember having a huge crush on.
Danielle
January 15, 2016 at 9:51 amI love all kinds of retellings! I’m reading Marissa Meyer’s short story, The Little Android, right now – yay for the little mermaid stories! 🙂
Amanda Lee
January 15, 2016 at 2:20 pmPicking a favorite retelling is so hard- but my mind immediately jumped to Genevieve Valentine’s “The Girls at the Kingfisher Club”. So good!
Rae
January 15, 2016 at 5:15 pmHeart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier (it’s a retelling of Beauty and the Beast) and as a teenager I adored The Goose Girl series by Shannon Hale (guess which fairy tale that one is).
Oh, and Enchantment by Orson Scott Card – I don’t think much of his opinions but he writes excellent books.
Jane Ray
January 15, 2016 at 7:16 pmCinder!
Lauren
January 16, 2016 at 2:38 amThis sounds amazing!
My current favourite retelling is Sea Hearts/The Brides of Rollrock Island, by Margo Lanagan, a retelling of ‘The Selkie Wife’. I also love Cinder, Daughter of the Forest, East and many more.
Ju Transcendancing
January 16, 2016 at 8:47 amBooksmugglers are bringing so many fairytale, faerie and related tales to my attention and I’m going to be reading them all year! This book looks fascinating and I’d *love* to read and review it.
Aldana
January 16, 2016 at 7:14 pmThe Wrath and the Dawn is a retelling I really enjoyed!
JoLee
January 17, 2016 at 3:44 pmSo intrigued! I want to do a Russia-inspired books blog post this year, and this book would be perfect!
Courtney
January 18, 2016 at 12:47 pmProbably my favorite is Spindle’s End
Sharon Tomasulo
January 18, 2016 at 4:45 pmI just read Baba Yaga’s Assistant, by Marika McCoola and Emily Carroll, which tells some of these same classic Baba Yaga stories. I can’t wait to read this!
I think my favorite retelling has always been Robin McKinley’s Beauty.
Lexi
January 20, 2016 at 5:43 amThe Princess Curse is my favorite retelling. I love how there are two stories woven through it.
Kay
January 21, 2016 at 12:01 pmThis looks like a great read! My current fave rebelling is Uprooted.
Kay
January 21, 2016 at 12:02 pmand this is why I hate autocorrect. Uprooted is my current fave retelling, not rebelling ?
Jennifer
January 22, 2016 at 12:21 amUprooted is my current favorite retelling even if I don’t know about the original story.
Alicia
January 23, 2016 at 12:00 amI loooove retellings! Some of my favorites are The Wrath and the Dawn, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Ice by Sarah Beth Durst.
JazzFeathers
January 24, 2016 at 11:33 amThis sounds like a great story. I love retellings and this sounds like a very weird, fun one 🙂
Avery
January 24, 2016 at 9:28 pmAsh by Malinda Lo was one of my very favorites
Vanessa
January 25, 2016 at 6:22 pmI adore retellings. The Lunar Chronicles are among my favorites.
Snapback Caps
November 9, 2016 at 9:27 pmI know I’ve read so many. This cover is gorgeous!