Note: This review will have more spoilers than my average book thoughts, because it’s impossible not to give adequate details for parents without them. Read at your own risk. 🙂
- 13-year-old becomes chronically sick, but a move from NYC to a forest community mysteriously heals her
- she discovers the new location is a safe haven for people with mythological powers when her own body begins changing
- convo: weaves in various New Age elements (chakras, yoga, meditation, etc.), boyfriends and “liking” another person are occasionally mentioned, witches and spells (as a good thing), mentions the “puberty talk” but didn’t happen and isn’t described, all the young teens have smart phones and scrolling social media feeds is mentioned, a seer goes into trances, a girl says “Don’t be dumb, Mom!”
- language: damn it x1, darn x1, stupid x1, bada– (written like that as an adult cuts him off before fully swearing)
Type: chapter book
Ages: 12+
Author: J.L. Thaxton
Not going to lie, I really enjoyed the start of this book. The writing style was enjoyable and the pages turned easily. The beginning had some clever foreshadowing I discovered in retrospect, and it had potential to become one I recommend to middle grade readers. Not to mention, I really love to support smaller publishing companies. However, it took a turn down the road of no-return.
This small forest town is home to shapeshifters, witches, and seers. There are griffins, selkies, minotaurs, harpies, a warlock, and more. All the kids “come into” their powers at various ages, which is what was happening to our main character. But living in the concrete jungle of NYC was clouding up the process, making her sick. She needed to be in nature, because, as we find out much later in the book, her identity is a rare mythological goddess-type creature which protects nature and animals. Urban life was polluting her transformation.
Before she learns how to control her new powers, she injures a friend and almost kills a few other people. Her various new attributes trickle into her awareness at different times. First, claws appear at the ends of her fingers. Soon her senses heighten to an extreme as she’s able to run swiftly and silently, hear from many miles away, see in the dark, etc. She can hear the voices of hundreds of plants cry out for protection when one is threatened–such as a man cutting down a tree.
At this point in the story I had only a few minor concerns, but now it really began to decline. The scenes in which the girl changes back and forth were sounding uncomfortably like demon possession, though I will note she learned to somewhat control “the monster” by the end of the book. Meditation on a yoga mat becomes part of her training–training, by the way, done by her peers. Yes, teenagers are capable of big things, but I would have liked a tad bit more adult interaction in helping her (minor complaint).
The author also makes light of witchcraft by setting us up to love a character before learning she’s a witch, making jokes about potions and casting spells, etc. This may not have been such an issue to bring up in a book review a generation ago, but it has sadly become a gray area in our current age. The poisonous tentacles of witchcraft have reached into so many areas influencing our children that it’s become commonplace. Kids don’t know where the gray turns to black anymore. No, I’m not condemning magic and fantasy books in general, as you can see by countless other reviews I’ve written. I’m just reminding fellow parents to be diligent in knowing what’s in their children’s literature and where your family needs to draw the line.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the girl (amidst all the New Age, tree activism, and demonic elements) did learn a good lesson about our human need for community. Being alone for long periods of time is often detrimental to our well-being. Her friends helped her in multiple ways, as did a few adults.
So there you have it. Longer than normal, but I felt it all needed saying. It appears I’ll be the first non-ARC reviewer on Goodreads. By the way, I bought a second book from the same publisher, so I’m going to give them another chance soon. Hope this helps!