APRIL 2012 - AudioFile
Fer, short for Jennifer, is unaware of her magical heritage and feels completely out of place when she enters a new realm upon inadvertently opening the Way between worlds. Erin Moon uses an even tone to portray Fer as a practical, normal girl, but all of the magical creatures have unique voices that match their natures in the other world. The Lady, an evil ruler, has a harsh, icy voice that sounds malevolent even when she makes the most mundane comments. Rook, a fairy who can shift into different animals, has a deep, gruff voice, much like the growl of the dog he often changes into. The wolf guards who pursue Fer on the orders of the Lady have mocking, slightly caustic tones. Moon’s narration provides a bright spot in Prineas’s sometimes inconsistent tale. E.N. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
School Library Journal
Gr5–7—It's almost spring, and all Fer wants is to be outside. However, all her grandmother wants is for her to be anywhere but outside. Fer doesn't know why until she runs away and accidentally opens a Way in the woods, through which comes a small boy (but he's really something else) and three very scary looking wolves. Little does Fer know that her life has just changed forever, as her adventures take her into a world of perpetual winter, where something is obviously very wrong. C.S. Lewis meets Lewis Carroll in Sarah Prineas's new take (HarperCollins, 2012) on old magic and alternate worlds, with enough originality to be interesting for fans of both. While the ending is somewhat predictable, the author doesn't take the most expected route to get there, and there are some surprises along the way. Erin Moon provides the narration, giving each character an appropriate and distinct voice.—Michaela B. Schied, Indian River Middle School, Philadelphia, NY
APRIL 2012 - AudioFile
Fer, short for Jennifer, is unaware of her magical heritage and feels completely out of place when she enters a new realm upon inadvertently opening the Way between worlds. Erin Moon uses an even tone to portray Fer as a practical, normal girl, but all of the magical creatures have unique voices that match their natures in the other world. The Lady, an evil ruler, has a harsh, icy voice that sounds malevolent even when she makes the most mundane comments. Rook, a fairy who can shift into different animals, has a deep, gruff voice, much like the growl of the dog he often changes into. The wolf guards who pursue Fer on the orders of the Lady have mocking, slightly caustic tones. Moon’s narration provides a bright spot in Prineas’s sometimes inconsistent tale. E.N. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
An atmospheric middle-grade fantasy ties the coming of age to the turning of the year. Young Fer (short for "Jennifer") loves her strict Grand-Jane and the herbal lore she teaches, but she feels more at home in the woods and fields than in the concrete and iron cage of her school. When she rescues the shapeshifting puck Rook, Fer opens a Way into a place of wild beauty, deep magic and strange half-human denizens. The land's glamorous Lady claims friendship with Fer's lost parents and begs her allegiance, but Fer senses something deeply wrong: something that holds Rook sullen and silent, forces the people into savagery and keeps the land in the grip of relentless winter… something that is now spreading to Fer's home. Prineas calls upon Celtic (and a few Nordic) traditions to build a vivid fantasy world, steeped in pagan sensibilities, where the cycle of seasons resonates with the awakening of identity. The prose is lush and sensuous, evoking the sounds and tastes and scents of the natural world. Unusually, almost every character (except the puck-in-distress) is female, portrayed in all ages and roles--authority, hero, villain, mentor, warrior, healer, servant and goddess. Fer is herself brave and kind, but not unrealistically so; her magic is both matter-of-fact and a source of quiet joy. There's no flashy pyrotechnic wizardry to dazzle here, but the right readers will find refreshment in a tale as muted and miraculous as the return of spring. (Fantasy. 10-14)
