Ivan Smetski never knew he was Jewish until his father decided the family need to leave Russia, and, based on their Jewish ancestry, immigrate to Israel. However, immigrating to Israel was just the excuse to get out of Russia. In reality, the father's goal was America.
Before Ivan left Russia for America, he spent some time at his cousin Marek's farm. One day, while wandering around the nearby woods, Ivan stumbled upon a Sleeping Beauty, a princess on a pinnacle. But as he approached her, he saw she was being guarded by some kind of hidden monster. As he was just a lad, Ivan had to leave the sleeping princess behind.
Once in America, Ivan went to become a scholar of ancient Russian languages and fairy tales. He returned to Russia to do research and decided to visit cousin Marek's farm again. He remembered the Sleeping Beauty in the forest and found his way back to the site. She was still there, asleep and still being guarded by the monster which turned out to be a giant bear. Ivan managed to defeat the bear and wake the princess with a kiss.
The princess, Katerina, took Ivan back to her land, thousands of years in the past. She had been cursed by an evil witch, Baba Yaga, who wanted to acquire Katerina's father's kingdom. And now Katerina and her father were relying upon Ivan to defeat Baba Yaga and save the kingdom. But the only way Ivan can do that is to return to the present with Katerina, now his wife (in name only) and enlist the help of his father and mother in defeating the evil witch.
I really enjoyed this story, it's just wonderful. Ivan is a sweetheart as are his amazing mother and loving father. Lots of surprises, one of which is cousin Marek who turns out to be an ancient weather god. And Baba Yaga is a formidable foe who almost succeeds in her evil designs.
For another opinion see this review by Kirkus Reviews.
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