The Phoenix and the Firebird

Book Title: The Phoenix and the Firebird

Author: Alexis Kossiakoff & Scott Forbes Crawford

Date Started: June 15th  2024

Date Completed: June 23rd 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Historical

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

The Phoenix and the Firebird is charming, enjoyable and good fun. A welcome addition to the pantheon of children's fantasy, it weaves traditional storytelling from Russia (our protagonist's homeland) and China (where the story is set).

While the inspiration is directly explored through various mythical creatures from Chinese and Russian folktales, I wouldn't say the cultural identity was necessarily pivotal in these story elements; they could just as well have been any other fantastical creature or even completely new inventions and have served the same purpose. It also felt like we learn a lot more about Russian myth than we do about Chinese. It was a shame that the unique roots and meanings of the creatures were lost in the action, but didn't take away from the fun of the story.

The modern narration style often found in contemporary children's books (and Young Adult) never fails to ruin the immersion of a period setting. This book does well for the most part of balancing the stakes and threat with an appropriate sense of danger and security. It was only towards the final act when Lucy faced the villain that things just felt a bit too silly to buy into. At the moments when real, genuine danger and fear came into play, the book decides to fall into nursery rhyme rather than accessibly deal with the subject matter.