Children's Literature - Heather Kinard
Having no memory of her parents and having been raised by her Grandmother, Fer has always felt different. The forest seems to speak to her in a way that feels more real than her quiet life on the farm. One day Fer stumbles across an injured creature who looks part boy and part something else. Fer rescues the creature and unknowingly embarks on an adventure that will change her life. The boy knows Fer's true identity and the power she possesses. He invites her to come with him into the forest and through the Way, a passage that leads to his mysterious and dangerous world. Fer feels an immediate attachment to this new magical world and knows that here she will find the answers to the questions about her missing parents. But a wicked and powerful huntress named the Mor rules this land and has other ideas for Fer. Unbeknownst to Fer, the Mor murdered the true Lady of the Land who was Fer's mother. The Mor's magic is no longer strong enough to keep the land in balance and now both worlds are on the verge of descending into endless winter. Fer discovers she has her mother's power and can restore balance to the land, but needs help from the creatures of this world to defeat the wicked Mor. This is an imaginative tale of magic, adventure, and friendship. The characters are well developed and keep you cheering for good and against evil. This book is well-written and will definitely appeal to fans of fantasy. Reviewer: Heather Kinard
School Library Journal
Gr5–7—It's almost spring, and all Fer wants is to be outside. However, all her grandmother wants is for her to be anywhere but outside. Fer doesn't know why until she runs away and accidentally opens a Way in the woods, through which comes a small boy (but he's really something else) and three very scary looking wolves. Little does Fer know that her life has just changed forever, as her adventures take her into a world of perpetual winter, where something is obviously very wrong. C.S. Lewis meets Lewis Carroll in Sarah Prineas's new take (HarperCollins, 2012) on old magic and alternate worlds, with enough originality to be interesting for fans of both. While the ending is somewhat predictable, the author doesn't take the most expected route to get there, and there are some surprises along the way. Erin Moon provides the narration, giving each character an appropriate and distinct voice.—Michaela B. Schied, Indian River Middle School, Philadelphia, NY
Kirkus Reviews
An atmospheric middle-grade fantasy ties the coming of age to the turning of the year. Young Fer (short for "Jennifer") loves her strict Grand-Jane and the herbal lore she teaches, but she feels more at home in the woods and fields than in the concrete and iron cage of her school. When she rescues the shapeshifting puck Rook, Fer opens a Way into a place of wild beauty, deep magic and strange half-human denizens. The land's glamorous Lady claims friendship with Fer's lost parents and begs her allegiance, but Fer senses something deeply wrong: something that holds Rook sullen and silent, forces the people into savagery and keeps the land in the grip of relentless winter… something that is now spreading to Fer's home. Prineas calls upon Celtic (and a few Nordic) traditions to build a vivid fantasy world, steeped in pagan sensibilities, where the cycle of seasons resonates with the awakening of identity. The prose is lush and sensuous, evoking the sounds and tastes and scents of the natural world. Unusually, almost every character (except the puck-in-distress) is female, portrayed in all ages and roles--authority, hero, villain, mentor, warrior, healer, servant and goddess. Fer is herself brave and kind, but not unrealistically so; her magic is both matter-of-fact and a source of quiet joy. There's no flashy pyrotechnic wizardry to dazzle here, but the right readers will find refreshment in a tale as muted and miraculous as the return of spring. (Fantasy. 10-14)
