From the author of October, October , winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal, comes a heartbreaking and heart-warming story about sisterhood, found family and accepting love in the most unusual and unknown places.
Fen and Rey were found curled up small and tight in the fiery fur of the foxes at the very edge of the wildlands. Fen is loud and fierce and free. She feels a connection to foxes and a calling from the wild that she's desperate to return to. Rey is quiet and shy and an expert on nature. She reads about the birds, feeds the lands and nurtures the world around her.
They are twin sisters. Different and the same. Separate and connected. They will always have each other, even if they don't have a mother and don't know their beginning. But they do want answers. Answers to who their mother is and where she might be. What their story is and how it began. So when a fox appears late one night at the house, Fen and Rey see it as a sign - it's here to lead them to their truth, find their real family and fill the missing piece they have felt since they were born.
But the wildlands are exactly wild. They are wicked and cruel and brutal and this journey will be harder and more life changing than either Fen or Rey ever imagined ...
My Thoughts
Reading this book is like disappearing into a wonderful dream. Beautifully written in a mesmerising voice, the setting feels so real you can feel the leaves brush by you and the chill wind down your spine. The characters are skilfully drawn with both sisters telling us their story and sharing their emotional arc from the beginning to the end of their adventure with the author seamlessly and very effectively flitting between the two girl's inner life. The story itself is full of hope, and keeps the reader turning the pages to find out what happens to these two fascinating girls.
A roller coaster of a tale with heart warming and heart stopping moments, much intrigue and joy and a hugely satisfying ending.
I strongly recommend this book to readers of all ages, particularly middle grade readers with an interest in natural settings.