cover image The Unraveling of Wentwater

The Unraveling of Wentwater

C.S. Lakin. AMG/Living Ink, $14.99 trade paper (354p) ISBN 978-0-89957-892-7

Wentwater is a village ruled by superstition. It lies at the foot of the mountain where, high above, the Heights is the home and pinnacle of learning. Teralyn descends from the Heights for a village music festival, accompanied by the student Justyn, whose family lives in the village. While Justyn seeks to leave his native village behind, Teralyn, a musician, finds joy in its appreciation for music, and a kindred soul in Justyn's shepherd brother Fromer. That's only the beginning of a complex plot involving a prophecy that has to do with Teralyn and the titular unraveling--disappearance--of the village as things, and the words that signify them, begin to disappear. Lakin (The Wolf of Tebron) mixes classic fairy tale elements (witches, spinning thread from nettles, water spirits) with wisdom elements from the Bible in a highly imaginative amalgam that examines the making of meaning and the making of mercy. Lakin's clever revival of the power of fairy tales as she continues The Gates of Heaven fantasy series makes one miss them as a vehicle for instructing the young. Ages 14-up. (July)