Elena the Brave by Julie Mathison
Elena the Brave brings magic and myth to life. An absolutely jam-packed adventure from start to finish! Elena the Brave, by Julie Mathison, is the second novel in the Old Rus fantasy time travel series aimed at young adult readers. The story opens in 1942 with Elena and her family managing wartime life in a steel town in Pennsylvania. Elena thrives on listening to her grandmother tell the stories of Russian folklore heroes, princes, and dragons. She feels that these stories are so alive when she closes her eyes and runs her fingers over her smooth pet rock. Little does she know that this stone is a portal to the old world where those heroes and princes in folklore tales are flesh and blood and dragons are real. It is so hard to write a review of this book without giving some of the story away because it is absolutely jam-packed with adventure as Elena and Prince Mitya gallop across the steppe to save Mitya's father. I could easily picture all of the ...