Katherine Arden’s bestselling debut novel spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice. “A beautiful deep-winter story; full of magic and monsters and the sharp edges of growing up.”—Naomi Novik; bestselling author of Uprooted Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness; and in the long nights; Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all; Vasya loves the story of Frost; the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him; for he claims unwary souls; and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil. Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout; Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits; but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed; misfortune begins to stalk the village. But Vasya’s stepmother only grows harsher; determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer; Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed—to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales. Praise for The Bear and the Nightingale “Arden’s debut novel has the cadence of a beautiful fairy tale but is darker and more lyrical.”—The Washington Post “Vasya [is] a clever; stalwart girl determined to forge her own path in a time when women had few choices.”—The Christian Science Monitor “Stunning . . . will enchant readers from the first page. . . . with an irresistible heroine who wants only to be free of the bonds placed on her gender and claim her own fate.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Utterly bewitching . . . a lush narrative . . . an immersive; earthy story of folk magic; faith; and hubris; peopled with vivid; dynamic characters; particularly clever; brave Vasya; who outsmarts men and demons alike to save her family.”—Booklist (starred review) “An extraordinary retelling of a very old tale . . . The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderfully layered novel of family and the harsh wonders of deep winter magic.”—Robin Hobb