Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, Yound Adult, Middle Grade, Coming of age

Pages: 356

Published January 9th 2016 by Helvetic House

Summary: For Anna, life has never been normal. She was raised by her uncle in the wilds of Siberia, educated at an orphanage in Geneva, and recently discovered her own supernatural powers. On top of everything else, Anna is a witch.

Anna knows she’s in danger. After destroying a child-smuggling ring in Geneva, there’s no doubt of the risk every day still presents. Yet, as this fantasy adventure begins, Anna is in Tuscany, surrounded by sunny hills, and she’s determined to get some rest.

Relaxation is not destined to last, though. A letter arrives from Anna’s uncle Misha, and it changes her life forever. It says that her father – a father she has never met – is alive and in danger. Uncle Misha asks that Anna come quickly; she is the only one who can help. Responding to her uncle’s plea, the young witch leaves Italy, accompanied by her fearless friend Lauraleigh. When she arrives in her Siberian homeland, she finds dangers beyond anything she could have imagined.

Anna discovers that her father has awe-inspiring powers. Yet, he has been captured by none other than Anna’s grandmother – a fearsome witch known as the Iron Queen. Unless Anna manages to rescue her newfound father, the world will be overrun by ghosts, and Anna herself may experience an even more terrifying fate.

While Anna has the love and support of her friends and family and the help of the magical creatures she meets along the way, she will need to confront her grandmother with her own courage and wisdom.

How far will Anna go to save the one she loves? What compromises will she make, and how much is she willing to lose?

Combining traditional fairy tale with a coming of age story, this second Diary of Anna Sophia promises a meaningful read for middle grade children or young adults.

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We met Anna Sophia in the last book, an orphan girl who finds out she is, in fact, a witch and that she has a grandmother who is also a witch and quite awful. The first book was a tale of good and evil, this one is not so unlike the first, except there is more depth to the story, and more background to Anna’s family.

Anna is able to meet her Uncle Misha and we hit the ground running in this book, she learns that her father, Koschey, is actually alive and kept prisoner and she must seek out her grandmother so that she can free him. If she doesn’t, the restless souls that rely on Koschey to bring them to the next life will grow increasingly restless and who can say what happens after that!?

We embark on a grand adventure with Anna, and eventually, she has to part with her beloved Lauraleigh and Uncle Misha. This is where the book kind of stalled for me, when Anna meets her grandmother all seems well except she begins to forget details, she begins to change during this process, too. There seemed to be a lot of back and forth with little to move the story forward. However, that changes swiftly.

My favorite thing about the first book was the struggle we were able to see between good and evil, this book is no different. In fact, we get to see what happens when evil tempts goodness and the toll it takes. I still found the story enjoyable and it kept me reading – even in the slower parts – this is a heavier book in both mood as well as pages. Still a fantastic read.

maxcandee Max Candee is a dad of three curious kids. He writes books for children together with twelve-year-old Ivan, seven-year-old Naomi and five-year-old Maya, who all share their passionate opinions and creative ideas. They even draw in Max’s manuscripts, and they love it when professional illustrators build on their suggestions.