Hello and happy Friday. Sometimes I read books from my TBR or Wishlist that I don’t really know how they got to said lists, but I appreciate them being there. This is the case of The Republic of Birds by Jessica Miller, a middle-grade novel set in the early 20th century in a place inspired by Russia.

This Tsardom, where Olga, our main character, and her family live, has yagas, who are magical creatures who’d been banished after a war with The Republic of Birds. It gave me Miss Peregrine’s vibes, but where that series feels dark, this one felt cold. It was really interesting to read a story rooted in Eastern-European folklore, though I must admit that made it hard to connect to the story from the get-go. Since this is middle-grade, it is rather short, though some themes might be too heavy for younger readers.