Wildwood

I tried to read the beautifully illustrated book and even the audiobook but could not finish this book. The story is convoluted and strangely comfortable with military violence for a middle grade fantasy book. I really wanted to get lost in an adventure story in the vibe of Narnia but this was not it. I'm going back into my wardrobe and not coming out.

Originally this was going to be another read-aloud-to-my-daughter book, but she quickly became uninterested in it. Nonetheless, I continued on my own. But the slow pace was reason enough for me to put it aside for about six months before picking it up again. And I almost put it aside for another spell, but then I got that completist urge and I finished it. Not at any great rush either. So, the story was okay... not a page-turner, obviously... but good enough to finish it off. It also helped that it was handsomely illustrated by the author's wife.

The story concerns a girl Prue, whose baby brother Mac gets kidnapped by a murder of crows and taken into the Impassable Wilderness (outside of St. Johns, Portland, Oregon). Prue and her friend Curtis manage to get into the Impassable Wilderness and there they meet talking animals, humans, bandits, and a certain power-mad evil-doer. This is the first of a trilogy (but can be read as a stand-alone book). I spoke to one of my nieces who loves this trilogy. But I didn't love it.