Children's books. We mostly think of them as fairy tales or fables. The Star of Kazan is a book that does not fall into that stereotype like Cinderella and Mother Goose do. It incorperates a fairy tale qualities like fantasy, but also suspense and action all blended together to make one well mixed smoothie of a book. The Star of Kazan follows Annika, a peasant in Vienna, through her journeys and adventures from rags to riches.
Annika was found in a church one day by two servants. They raised her to become just as good as they were at making food, polishing, scrubbing, and cleaning. She lives in a small neighborhood-like square and plays with another peasant and a librarian's granddaughter. Everything is going along fine until Annika's real mother shows up unexpectedly. She takes her to a castle called Spittle to live not as a servant, but as an aristocrat. Annika is uneasy with her new relatives and house, but tries to like it. But pretty soon, she finds something suspicious is going on, but she can't quite find out what.
I would say this is the kind of book that surprises you with twists and turns in the plot. It is fun and suspenseful with just the right amount of mystery and action to satisfy children and adults. Overall, this book in in my top ten favorites.