Wildwood
by Colin Meloy
Book Description:
When her baby brother
is kidnapped by crows, Prue McKeel begins an adventure that will take her and
her friend Curtis way beyond her hometown and deep into the Impassable
Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval,
a world full of warring creatures, peace-loving mystics and powerful figures
with the darkest intentions. What begins as a rescue mission becomes something
much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the
very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.
Review:
I wanted to love this book. In the beginning, I liked it
very much. It has a folksy sort-of feel in the storytelling. It has a kidnapped
brother, and an intrepid sister, out to recover him... it has a dark, mysterious
wilderness that captivates Prue and readers alike.
As I continued reading, though, the story began to lag for
me. I'm not sure exactly why. Partially, I think, because I personally do not
particularly like books where main characters are talking animals. It just
doesn't work for me and there were definitely some important characters here who
were of the non-human variety. Also, this delved a lot into politics and (unlike
in M.W. Turner's books which are full of political intrigue that I couldn't help
but be fascinated by...) it just became too much.
I think that there were a lot of factors that just added up
to not quite a win here for me. I think maybe if the book had been a little
shorter, not quite so complicated, I might have persevered and possibly even
have enjoyed my reading experience, but in the end, I really only enjoyed the
first third of this book.
