The child – if child it was – came out of the wild-ness. It came out of the sparse bleak marsh where few dared go and none came back. And though the village grew accustomed to the creature they did not forget from whence it came. And they whispered that there was no knowing whether she was sent as a blessing or a bane.’
When the child emerges from the wilderness, no one in the village knows what to do with her. She is odd – half-wild, without speech and seems to have an unnatural bond with animals – especially the falcon, who is always circling above her. The Wise-Woman takes her in, and names her Rhodd, but the rest of the villagers remain suspicious.
Over the years, as Rhodd grows, the village realises that the river, which is their connection to the wider world, is beginning to die, and eventually a dark sickness begins to spread. Soon, too soon, the villagers turn their suspicion on Rhodd and her falcon.
And so, Rhodd sets out to discover what – or who – is causing the river to dry up . . . to protect her mother, her falcon and herself…
Penny's first two books had some magic. But this one is magical through to the bone. Penny has chosen a setting we've all seen before - an isolated village in an undefined but not too recent past - and woven magic and mystery into it. Rhodd is a mystery even to herself, too young to remember who she was at her rescue and urged at every turn to forget it in the years since.
The language here is amazing, lyrical and simple, magical and beautiful. This is a book that will enchant even those kids who don't think they like fantasy stories. It's a great adventure apart from anything else, and I love the rabbit! Fantastic character.
This one is going to show up on a lot of the award lists this year, so get ahead and read it as soon as you can.
'That's why people are scared of the night,' Ma went on. 'Because there is always the fear that the water has drowned the sun, and the light and the warmth will never return. But then we watch through the long hours of darkness and we wait and we hope and we set our eyes to the east. And the sun always rises.'
Wilder publishes on the 16th of February, 2023. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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