Book Review of St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell

Karen Russell's arresting first novel entitled St. Lucy'sAs the fables unfold, Russell establishes a thick,
Home for Girls Raised by Wolves has received raveotherworldly haze that doesn't lift - even between
reviews from the likes of People Magazine and Thestories. An adults-only blizzard-themed skating party
New York Post, and for good reason. Each tale in thisgoes terribly wrong when the children come in search
darkly surreal collection transports the reader to theof their parents and unintentionally release the ice
murky heat of the Florida Everglades and continues toskating apes from their enclosures (Lady Yeti and the
haunt them even after moving on to the next story.Palace of Artificial Snows). A little girl disappears with
Creepy, fantastical and sparkling with whimsy, eachthe tide while riding a crab shell (Haunting Olivia). A
story shares a small connection with the rest but stillretirement community whose residents live in
seems light years away from the idea of real life. Indiscarded ships must befriend teenage criminals (Out
Girls Raised by Wolves, young women are romancedto Sea), and a young girl abandons her school trip in
by spirits (Ava Wrestles the Alligator), spectral divingfavor of getting trapped in a giant conch shell (The
goggles make ghost-watching a viable hobby (HauntingCity of Shells).
Olivia) and narcoleptic children go to sleep-away campEach story is stands alone in magnificence; together,
with ones who relive historical disasters in their dreamsthey form an anthology of modern-day mythology fit
(Z.Z.'s Sleep-Away Camp for Disordered Dreamers).for every cynical fairy tale lover.