The Wolf Princess

Constable, Cathryn. The Wolf Princess.
September 24th 2013 by Chicken House

Sophie Smith has a hard life in an English boarding school. Her mother and father are both dead, and her guardian, Rosemary, doesn't think to even outfit her with clothes that meet the school dress code. She longs to go to Russia, so when a mysterious woman shows up at the school and invites her to go on the school trip, Sophie is glad to be able to do with friends Delphine and Marianne. They are planning on spending time in the city at a school, but when they get to the country, they are approached by Ivan and whisked away into the perilous cold on a train toward the Volkonsky Winter Palace. Princess Anna acts as their hostess, providing them with sumptuous clothing and fun activities, but her motivations are darker than the girls imagine.
Strengths: This has the feel of a modern fairy tale, although there really isn't any magic. Sophie is a sympathetic character. The Russian countryside and some historical type information is interesting. It is a pretty book.
Weaknesses: I thought this was time travel, for some reason, so kept waiting for them to go into the past, and they didn't.