Into the Wild Magic
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
From New York Times best-selling author Michelle Knudsen comes a pitch-perfect fantasy about adolescent girlhood—navigating friendship and trust, owning your gifts, and becoming the hero of your own story. Eleven-year-old Bevvy spends her time avoiding other kids, playing with her neighbor’s kittens, and escaping into her fantasy novels. When new girl Cat arrives at school, Bevvy thinks she may finally have found a friend, until Cat provokes Bevvy’s worst tormentor and leaves her alone to deal with the consequences. Later, on Bevvy’s doorstep, Cat’s apology is cut short when a car with dark windows rolls up. Bolting into a nearby wood with Bevvy in tow, Cat proceeds to open a hole, in the air, just in time. Bevvy knows magic when she sees it, the kind in books, but the world the girls escape to—teeming with unicorns, sorcerers, and dragons—is shockingly, exhilaratingly real. It’s a world at war. Those who wield wild magic, in tune with nature, are pitted against dark sorcerers. As Bevvy’s role in the struggle grows, and her confidence with it, can she trust Cat to support her? Can she trust herself not to run? An acclaimed author builds a breathtaking and emotionally resonant world where magic and monsters are real and friendship and risk go hand in hand.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When sixth grader Bevvy finds newcomer Cat in Bevvy's usual school playground hiding spot, she has fleeting hopes of finally making a friend. But when they meet again a day later, Cat is short with Bevvy and abandons her as bullies encroach on their hideaway. Bevvy is surprised, therefore, when she arrives home to find Cat on her porch. Cat is attempting to apologize when strangers emerge from a car, prompting both girls to run into the woods—where Cat opens a portal to another world, which she calls Lorelkey. Fantasy book lover Bevvy's immediate delight is soon dampened by reality: Lorelkey is a world at war, where sorcerers wielding life-stealing abilities face off against practitioners of natural wild magic. After Cat's efforts to open a path home fail, the tweens must survive threats both monstrous and human. In this spirited magical adventure, Knudsen (Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten) puts a new spin on fantasy elements such as unicorns as well as contemporary ideas around transportation (some characters travel via giant moth). Bevvy is a compassionate, compelling lead across a surprise-packed plot that doesn't shy away from such heady topics as the ethical use of magic. Major characters cue as white. Ages 9–12.
