From Publishers Weekly
In his debut novel, picture book author/artist Kirk (
Library Mouse) delivers a complicated magical tale, the first installment of a projected trilogy. The veil between the elfin world and the human world has grown thin, and with humans cutting down forests to build houses and subdivisions, the elf community begins to lose its battle to keep its secrets. Two children, Matt and Becky—whose developer father is poised to destroy the trees that protect the elfin city of Alfheim from discovery—stumble upon a long-lost sacred wedding shoe that elfin royalty desperately wants back. The fate of the elves becomes intertwined with that of Becky and Matt, who must decide if they are willing to risk everything to save this magical realm. Without sacrificing plot for message, Kirk offers a subtle critique of the ways humanity mistreats the planet. His illustrations add an otherworldly beauty to what is otherwise a light, playful (if not a tad long) tale. Ages 10–up.
(Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5–8—Readers fond of elves, fairies, and trolls will enjoy this fantasy feast. When Jim McCormack takes his young daughter, Anna, on an early-morning hunting expedition in the nearby woods, he stumbles on a royal fairy wedding, and, aiming his gun at a deer, he accidentally kills the groom. This precipitates an already smoldering conflict between the human and fairy worlds, exacerbated when Jim's son grows up and begins cutting down trees to build a development in the fairy woods. When Jim's grandson, Matt, cuts his foot on an important fairy shoe, the two worlds collide. The action is fast paced, and the fragile line between fairy and human worlds is clearly drawn. Characterizations are well done. Young Anna becomes a kind of human sacrifice, kept prisoner for years by the fairies as punishment for the murder of the fairy prince. Stunning imagery paints a believable sylvan fairy world, eerily spooky and dangerous. Humor in the form of a troll named Agar whose lair is cluttered with hoarded treasures lightens the mood. Large, full-page black-and-white sketches of elves with huge eyes and pointed ears emphasize the haunted, otherworldly atmosphere. After reading this intriguing fantasy, readers will take a careful look around them while walking through the woods.—
Quinby Frank, Green Acres School, Rockville, MD Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
