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Summary
Summary
A long-undisturbed bedroom. A startling likeness. A mysterious friend. When twelve-year-old Prince Lev Lvov goes to live with his aunt at Falcon House, he takes his rightful place as heir to the Lvov family estate. Prince Lev dreams of becoming a hero of Russia like his great ancestors. But he'll discover that dark secrets haunt this house. Prince Lev is the only one who can set them free. Will he be the hero his family needs?
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Prince Lev Lvov always knew he was destined for great things. He could never understand why his mother did not want him living at Falcon House with his aunt Olga, princess of the Lvov family, or to be a great general like his late grandfather. Much to Prince Lev's mother's chagrin, Aunt Olga finally sends for him. At Falcon House, Prince Lev quickly befriends Vanyousha, a servant boy, and through their shenanigans, discovers that Falcon House holds more secrets than he could have imagined. This dark, historical ghost story has very little suspense, but the short chapters make it a quick listen. Michael Bakkensen narrates the bulk of the story while George Guidall reads the history lesson in the introduction and the concluding notes. The prologue recounts how Yelchin uncovered the papers that led him to write this tale, while extended historical notes make this a great title for history buffs. Listeners might enjoy having the print book with them to view the accompanying pictures. -VERDICT A bit dry at times, this is a supplementary purchase for libraries looking to beef up their historical fiction offerings. ["A unique historical mystery from a celebrated children's writer and illustrator; a great option for classroom discussion and a jumping-off point for further exploration of Russian history": SLJ 8/16 review of the Holt book.]-Amanda Schiavulli, Finger Lakes Library System, NY © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Yelchin (Arcady's Goal) sets his imaginative, layered mystery-prefaced by a tongue-in-cheek opening note on the story's purported origins-in late-19th-century Saint Petersburg. Twelve-year-old Prince Lev Lvov, who loves drawing and his mother in equal measure, has been called by his paternal aunt to take up his "noble duties" at the family's Falcon House. On his journey he has an unsettling experience: the face of an unknown boy replaces his image in the dark train window. At Falcon House, events unroll with an odd mix of creepiness and comedy: Aunt Olga and her servants are all broad characters who would be at home in a Dahl novel, while the mysterious boy comes and goes with disconcerting speed. As Lev begins to question the tradition of serfdom and his role as master of Falcon House, he also undergoes strange spells of uncontrollable sketching. Finally revealing Lev as an unreliable narrator, Yelchin leaves his fate open to speculation. Offbeat, smudged sketches play a peculiar yet effective counterpoint to the evocative language, and helpful historical notes are included. Ages 9-12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In the introduction to this faux memoir (written by Prince Lev Lvov, with pictures drawn in his own hand and translated from Russian by Eugene Yelchin), Yelchin describes finding the fictional princes papers as a boy and later showing them to Laura Godwin (the real editor of this book) for publication. Set in late-nineteenth-century imperial Russia, the atmospheric story follows young Lev, the last of an ancient lineage, as he arrives at the cavernous Falcon House in Saint Petersburg, eager to assume his noble duties. There he encounters an assortment of peculiar people, including his irritable, wheelchair-using aunt, Princess Olga Lvovna Lvov; an ancient servant who insists he should be Levs valet; and a playful young boy who may not be what he seems. In his late grandfathers gloomy study, which the servants are convinced is haunted, the artistic Lev is befuddled by episodes during which his hand seems to be taken over by a spirit, creating some of the curious drawings that are scattered throughout the book. Short chapters, an eerie setting, and a surprising twist at the end make this a compelling read for fans of historical fiction and ghost stories. monica edinger (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A "found" Russian manuscript recounts a late-19th-century haunting.Prince Lev Lvov is apprehensive about leaving his beloved mother when he is summoned to St. Petersburg to take up his aristocratic responsibilities in the impossibly cavernous Falcon House. Upon arriving, the dreamy, artistic 12-year-old meets his termagant aunt and an odd assemblage of servants, all of whom remark on Lev's resemblance to his dead grandfatherin whose creepy study his aunt insists he sleep. Lev is unsettled to discover his hand possessed when he sits down to draw to comfort himself. Those drawings, smudged and torn, provide eerie accompaniment to the text. The mysterious young Vanyousha offers Lev companionship but provokes more questions. Adding a further layer of weirdness, Yelchin positions the story in a "translator's note" as a document he found as a child. The story is both simplea ghost storyand as complex as the country it rises from, offering glimpses of Russia's unique and brutal history in its examination of the institution of serfdom, just recently abolished in Lev's time, and its exploration of the role of art as a vehicle for liberation. Middle graders unfamiliar with that history will be intrigued by the ghost story and the compelling setting, and explanatory notes both provide context and help to prepare them for such books as Candace Fleming's The Family Romanov (2014) and M.T. Anderson's Symphony for the City of the Dead (2015) later on.Eerie and effective. (Historical fantasy. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* When young Prince Lev Lvov receives an invitation to the noble Falcon House, he knows he must leave his country home, his cat, Woolly, and his mother behind. It's not until after three days of train travel that Lev arrives at the dark and decrepit manor where strange things are afoot; Lev's aunt, Olga Lvovna, is ashen and stern, and a gaggle of jittery servants whom she repeatedly refers to as villains lurch at her every word. What's more, Lev, the spitting image of his late grandfather, is expected to uphold that grandfather's hard-nosed legacy. Isolated in an ancient study, Lev is lonesome, homesick, and utterly fearful. Or so he is until he meets Vanyousha, a sheepish and mysterious servant boy, and the two bond over their love of art, as well as their solitude. Inspired by a peculiar bundle of illustrations discovered by a young Yelchin (Newbery Honor Book Breaking Stalin's Nose, 2011), the novel's 56 minichapters are interspersed with beguiling ink sketches of everything from star-soaked skies and stark graves to pitchforks and dozing kittens. The narrative itself accompanied by useful footnotes for obscure phrases like lorgnette and Corps des Pages is by turns wide-eyed, inquisitive, and earnest. This is a haunting tale at its very best.--Shemroske, Briana Copyright 2016 Booklist