It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with a review of The Song of the Swan by Karah Sutton, illustrated by Pauliina Hannuniemi

The Song of the Swan by Karah Sutton, illustrated by Pauliina Hannuniemi

Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
Format:  Hardcover
Number of pages:  288 pages
Published:   October 24th, 2023
Source:  Banholzer Public Relations

Opening Line:  "You may have heard, little ones, a story or two about the secrets of the human heart."  

Olga has been traveling from town to town with Pavel, the protector and Mr. Bulgakov, who took Olga in when she had no place else to go.  In exchange, she performs magical illusions, steals and uses sleight of hand to swindle people for the goods they need.  Olga possesses a unique form of magic that allows her to draw from her heartstring to enchant jewelry that Mr. Bulgakov then sells.   Sometimes, when the town finds out about their tricks and crimes, they have to make a hasty exit from the city.  Which is just what is happening at the beginning of the book.  After having hurriedly escaped into the woods, the trio cross the path leading towards Sokolov Palace.  Mr. Bulgakov, is very leery of the Palace, stating that it is a dangerous place, he cautions them from ever going there and rushes them off to the next town.  But Olga can't help but be drawn toward the palace, she knows that it is rumored to house The Scarlet Heart, a rare stone desired by the tsar himself.  Seeing this an opportunity for a quick heist and great wealth, Olga convinces Paval that it is a risk they must take, it's a chance for them to change their lives for good.  If they can only recover the stone, they'll never have to steal for Mr. Bulgakov again. 

Just as Pavel and Olga get closer to the palace, she plummets down a cliff, only to awaken in the palace, with the Baron attending to her wounds.  While she was unconscious, Pavel began participating in the festivities of the ball and to Olga's dismay he seems to be enjoying himself.  Even having made friends with a young woman, Anna.  Once Olga recuperates, she desperately tries to get Pavel back on track with locating the stone.  But Pavel seems to be enamored by the opulent food, twirling of the dancers, soft music playing and Anna, so he isn't sure that they need the stone anymore.  Even Olga seems to have difficulty holding on to her thoughts and the reason why she is there.  

Sokolov Palace is a dangerous place that holds many secrets and Olga hopes to uncover them all.  What she doesn't know at first is that the castle is ruled by an enchanter, Baron Sokolov, who hosts elaborate balls each night, only for the guests to disappear the very next morning.  Housed within the palace there is also an aviary filled with swans, which Olga feels are connected to the enchanter.  Determined to find the stone, Olga begins to search the palace, and while in the crypt, she comes across a spider who agrees to help her in exchange for uncovering the magic that has a grip on the palace and surrounding valley.  The more time that Olga spends at the palace the more deals she begins to make.  She promises to help the Baron repair the magical spell that is over the palace, and also promises to help the spider queen.  Where Olga was once consumed by the idea of wealth and what the stone could provide to her, she slowly begins to be torn between her desire to ensure that her friend Pavel doesn't become trapped at the palace and a need to understand what causes the guests to disappear each day only to be replaced by swans. 

The Song of the Swan as explained in the author's note was inspired by the origins of the Swan Lake story and includes various themes from the ballet.  Sutton also included spiders from Slavic mythology and the ballet Giselle seems to have influenced the lure of the dancers and inclusion of swans.  I must admit I'm not as familiar with the ballet, but it slightly reminded me of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, although Olga never spent very long at the ball.  She spent her time exploring the palace.  I did really enjoy the fairy tale like introduction and the description of how the heartstring magic was formed.  I also liked that each chapter began with the spider spinning his tales.  It was a nice way of blending Olga's quest with past events surrounding the heartstring magic.  It basically helps to fill in some of the gaps, like why the Baron quests to have such power over the palace and what he hopes to accomplish.  Finally, I enjoyed Olga, her prickliness and lack of trust.  But also, the way that she transforms in the story.    While Olga detests deceiving people, she's also become accustomed to its necessity for survival.  She's also used to seeing inside people to determine their desires.  She utilizes many of the skills that Mr. Bulgakov taught her on the Baron in order unearth what he's hiding and to trap him into revealing his secrets.  She's quite a clever girl.  I'd be remiss if I didn't include the lovely illustrations by Paulina Hannuniemi that really add to the story and highlight certain important events.  

I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE