Until Death Taps You on the Shoulder

by Etgoma

When facing death, there is only one way to go.

War has come to Ukraine. Ever since the first blasts of Russian bombs hit the frontline city where they live, Carmina and Agnieszka face death daily. Their lives have been changed forever. Instead of posting selfies on social media or reading fantasy books, they hide in their basements and count their breaths.

To escape the scorching grip of war, they venture deep into the Carpathian woods and stumble upon a shadow creature who calls herself Mara. Soon, they discover she is Baba Yaga, a guide to the world of Beyond. But something is wrong.

The war-tortured dead are no longer able to see Mara, and instead, they are trapped on Earth as ghosts. Unable to lead them to the Beyond, Mara has been catapulted to the world of the living–a world she’s never understood. But after meeting Carmina and Agnieszka, she begins to grasp that life is worth fighting for.

However, when death comes for the girls, there is only one way to go. Unless they ask their new friend for a favour…

Etgoma’s incredible debut novel is a fantasy twist on their experiences of the ongoing war, featuring two ace teens, Slavic folklore, and the importance of friendship and belonging in the darkest of times.

335 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2025

About the author

Etgoma are two asexual sibling-writers, creators, and illustrators from Ukraine. Psychologists by education, they dedicate their lives to writing and illustrating stories that make a difference, raising fundamental questions without answers. Their first novel, crafted during the full-scale war in their country during air raids and city shelling, came as their own battle cry. When they’re not writing or drawing, they are either fighting inner demons or having tea with Baba Yaga in the hut with chicken legs on the other side of any logic.

Reviews

[Clover · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Thank you to Riverfolk Books and Etgoma for this ARC!

Characters: ★★★☆☆
Agnieszka and Carmina are 14 and couldn't be more different. Agnieszka is a rule follower and cares very much about fashion. Carmina is all about being a warrior like her father who fights against the Russians, she cares nothing for school or fashion unless it'll get a gun in her hand and out on the field blowing up Russians. The girls share a love for their country and an end to the war.
I found Agnieszka very annoying in her views, she was too materialistic for me to relate to her. Her constant use of Spanish words was bizarre and took me out of the story every time. Carmina is very passionate about joining the war and I related to her a bit better because why do we need a Scottish purse when there's a war going on, Agnieszka?? She's a bit much, but there are plenty of children who were just like this during the Iraq War, albeit slightly different because it wasn't on their own soil.
Mara has been taught to be Baba Yaga and guide the death into the afterlife. Mara is vastly different from her cat Aidan, she doesn't understand humans and prefers being alone and Aidan adores them. He can turn into a human and is an absolute peach.
Overall, the characters are good. I preferred Mara's chapters, probably because I couldn't get into the 14 year olds' POV's and how they were written like diaries/letters.

Atmosphere:★★★★☆
It's war in Ukraine, it's not uber depressing, but the start of the book is Agnieszka telling how the days went through the beginning of the war. She mentions the news footage, the sounds of the bombs and air raid sirens, the stores being packed even though there was nothing to get. It's bleak but there's hope. Etgoma does a good job of showing the patriotism of the Ukrainian people with their songs and greetings. It's those little things that help bring you through the tough times.
Mara's parts are a bit more positive but she is shepherding people into the afterlife and by doing so she sees all of their memories. It explains her feelings on human beings and it changes through her friendship with the girls (and a goose!).

Plot, Pacing, and Premise: ★★★☆☆
The plot and pacing were okay. Agnieszka's POV is always in a diary format so there is A LOT of telling and not so much showing. Carmina's POV is always a letter to her father, so it's similar to Agnieszka's and I felt like that really slowed things down. Mara's POV is told more like a linear story and so it felt faster and more enjoyable for me. The premise is amazing and along with the cover is what hooked me, but I wish I had known how the teen's POVs were going to be written. I still would have read the book, but I remember starting Agnieszka's POV and wondering what happened to the story. So because of that, I felt like the actual story didn't live up to the premise in a way that I expected.

Tone: ★★★★☆
Etgoma handles tone well as each character has their own outlook and inner feelings that shape how they handle situations (positive, pessimistic, indifferent). Overall, the unite in the love of Ukraine.

Intrigue: ★★★★★
Ace characters, Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, and the Ukraine war? Count me in!

Versus (Strengths & Weaknesses): ★★★☆☆
Strengths is capturing the war from Etgoma's experiences. The two authors wrote this during the war and so you can expect truth and honesty, they didn't shy from anything. I loved Mara/Baba Yaga and found it so interesting and fun. The asexual representation was wonderful and I loved seeing it.
However, as the authors are two asexuals themselves, I really expected to relate a bit more. I think having the characters as 14 year old asexuals hindered that as 16+ is more of the age range where asexuality might be seen as a problem. Although, there was plenty I did understand and enjoyed having been put out there. The random Spanish was so jarring and I wish another language was used. Agnieszka's father is half Polish so even using Polish over Ukrainian would have felt more connected to the story. It just seemed like she was using Spanish as kids use French in North America to seem uber mature. The random swearing was weird too, we can't say the F word but we can say bastards and shit and rape while wanting Russian's to be blown up? I don't think I'll ever understand where one draws the line with swearing in books, but seeing "eff"/"effing" and bastard and shit on the same page felt weird.

Audience: ★★★☆☆
If you edit the swearing and somehow address the atrocities of war in a way that works, I think this would be the perfect middle grade novel. As it stands, I don't think two 14 year olds and how they act make it a very good Young Adult book, it won't capture the 16+ readers because they sometimes think 14 year olds are babies and lame. Clearly, two teens living through the war are anything but lame, but kids are weird sometimes.

Themes: ★★★★☆
The passion, love, and fight for Ukraine is so beautiful and intense. Etgoma touch on how social media helps and hinders their fight and how draining it can be. The simple lines of "Gotta go hide in the bathtub again!" are almost poignant. Readers will definitely feel the deep pain and trauma that these people are going through, and although heavy, makes this book stand out from any other.

Ending: ★★★★★
The ending is good, it's hopeful and wonderful, it reminds us to fight for what we believe in and never forget what it is we fight for.

Overall, the book is a story of war that reaches all of us. It has representation that is necessary and needed, by authors who are living through these things. It shows light and hope through darkness that you think might be endless, but remember that light and it will stay with you. I think it misses the mark for YA, but this would be a wonderful Juvenile novel. I was surprised with how many WWII J FIC books there were until I started working at the library, so I think this would find it's readership perfectly among those war stories.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from the cover and description and so glad I was able to read this book. It had that dark fantasy element that I was wanting and enjoyed how it uses the fantasy elements in the plot of the book. The characters were so well written and enjoyed the friendship elements of these characters. Etgoma was able to weave a strong storyline and enjoyed the realistic concept of this. The story worked so well together with the characters and was glad I was able to get to read this.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege of seeing an early draft of this book, but then I didn’t see it at all until publication. It’s changed quite a bit, most obviously with the change of author name to “Etgoma”, a collaboration between two Ukrainian sisters, and the addition of line drawing illustrations – lots of them. But the actual text has altered, too, and for the better, in my opinion, because the story is clearer.

The plot revolves around two teenage girls in Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Agnieska, whose father is a doctor, is very “girlie”, all dresses-boys-dolls; her friend Carmina, whose father is a soldier, scorns such ‘trivia’. Much of the early part of the story centres on these differences, but gradually Agnieska discovers the harsh realities of life through personal tragedy. The girls also befriend Mara, a Baba Yaga; Yagas are mythical Eastern European figures appointed by Mother Death to guide the dying from life to the hereafter. Mara lives in a forest in a ‘living hut’ with chicken legs for stilts. (Classical music fans might recall that one of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition was Baba Yaga.)

There’s little doubt that ‘Carmina’ represents Etgoma’s own view on life; the authors describe themselves as “asexual warriors”. Until Death Taps You on the Shoulder – which is quite long at almost 400 pages – might have been intended as a YA novel, but I think it’s too difficult for that age group. Its content isn’t the problem, it’s more that there’s just so much background to take in, and the plot doesn’t really take off until well in. Personally, I don’t much like the way the different chapters are told from the point of view of each of the main three characters in turn. For me, it slightly disrupts the rhythm of the book, and were the novel not so good in other respects I'd have docked it a star. That’s purely my taste, though. I’m not criticising the form, and I recognise that it was probably the author’s most appropriate approach.

Although I think it’s a hard read as a YA novel, I wonder if this may nevertheless in time become a really important book. Angry, depressed, defiant, it’s an astonishing insight into the minds of people living in war. Consider this: where else can you find this sort of work, written under the constant threat of imminent annihilation, written in the English language* about a twenty-first century contemporary conflict?

I’m not going to spoil the story by telling you what happens at the end, but the final portion of the book really takes off. It would make a great movie.


*Remarkably, English is the author’s third language, after Ukrainian and Russian.

[Aitana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Booksirens and Etgoma for sending me an ARC of this book. This is my honest opinion and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
I really wanted to love this book (which, by the way, is beautiful. I mean, have you seen the cover and illuatrations??). Sadly, i didn't quite love it, but it's still a really good book.
Staring with the best parts of the book, the setting in the ukrainian war in 2022 is amazingly well-written and doesn´t shy away from violence, pain and death. The discussions on human strengh and the harshness of the narration brought tears to my eyes at some points. I thought the mix of the folklore with the reality of the war made this one really stand out.
The authors have studied in psychology and it shows greatly in the portrayals of trauma and grief, both in the main and side characters, as well as in the nameless characters we meet.
Both of these make this book a really important read and i recommend it because of it.
I also appreciated the asexual representation.

But I sadly didn't quite like the characters. I know two of them are 14 and tried to keep it into account, but i found them (especially Agniezka) really anoying and it really hindered my experience with the book. I didn't feel an emotional connection with the other characters. But this may be a me-thing, so i would for sure recommend it to you.
I also found what i felt were too many pop culture references, though that may have to do with the age of the characters, i found it a bit much.
Also there were a couple of expressions i found weird and that people may find slightly offensive, though they may be used to show the perception of the world the main character has.
The random words in spanish threw me out a little bit, but that's definitely a me-thing.

I also wish the "going to the underworld" part was longer, because i thought it was such an interesting portrayal of it.

In conclusion, I liked a lot about this book and I think it's really important because of the story it tells. The characters didn't really do it for me but that may absolutely be a me-thing. I would for sure recommend this book

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a BookSirens ARC of this book.

This novel, set in Ukraine during the Russian invasion, follows teens Agnieska and Carmina as they flee their town. Meanwhile Mara, a spirit guide, is dealing with a massive influx of souls and her own loneliness. They cross paths in the town of Booguy, where they learn about friendship and loss.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed the first-person account of how the girls were feeling during the invasion. So much of the coverage of the Russian invasion is either news reports or "feel good" anecdotes of Ukrainians fighting back, while this story provides a lot more depth and nuance. However, I did not enjoy any of the main characters in this story, and liked each character less as the story went on. By the time the big action scene happens (almost 90% of the way into the book), I was no longer invested in the plot because the characters had become juvenile and annoying.

[A.K. Adler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had many excellent qualities: it evoked the reality of war from a child's perspective, and it was brimming with details of Ukrainian culture. The themes resonate, and the mythology was integrated in a relevant way to deepen those messages. Especially, it managed to walk that fine line of tragicomedy, which I always find so impressive.
However, I don't think it's a YA book. The characters' voices sound very young, more like 11-year-olds than the 14-year-olds they are supposed to be. As an adult reader, I enjoyed their naivety, but I don't believe it will be approachable for readers over the age of about 13. I think it would work better as an MG book (if you cut the swearing).
There were also places where the plot felt a bit forced, not springing naturally from the character motivations.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, being set during a current war, and bringing in “Mara” as a character, but I’m so glad I read it! Etgoma does an amazing job bringing the heartbreak and reality to a war that, for me, is on the other side of the world. The characters themselves feel so real, like you could hop online and message them. I loved BY/Mara and her familiar, the banter between them was a nice comic relief against the harsh realities of the war. If I’m being honest, BY was what had me most nervous about reading this, as I’m somewhat familiar with her mythology, but honestly, there was nothing to worry about. I love how she was made to feel more present and real in the human world, while still remaining respectful to her. The story is engaging, and there are heartbreaking moments as you see Carmina and Agnieszka navigate the realities of the war they’re trapped in unfold, instead of worrying about things you’d expect teens to be concerned with. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a contemporary fantasy that will both make you laugh and bring tears to your eyes.

[Alastair Millar · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent blend of Slavic folklore elements with teenage impressions of the invasion of Ukraine. Well worth a read.