Willa of the Wood

In this charming middle grade adventure set in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains in 1900, Willa, a young Faeran, or night-spirit, is caught between her own slowly dying clan and the human “day-folk,” whom she’s always been taught to fear and avoid. As a jaetter or hunter-thief, Willa is responsible for stealing from the day-folk to benefit her clan and its charismatic leader, the padaran. But a botched scavenging attempt reveals that not all humans are murderous monsters. Her additional discovery that her own people hold dangerous secrets prompts her to defy the enigmatic padaran and seek a way to correct a grievous wrong. Faced with the potential destruction of everything she’s known, Willa takes control of her own destiny. In this series starter set in the same world as his Serafina books, Beatty conjures up a resourceful, compassionate heroine. Full of atmospheric details and richly described magic (“As the branches reached out over the water to hold her, they rustled in the wind, talking”), this well-paced tale asks insightful questions about the relationship between nature and humans. Ages 8–12. [em]Agent: Bill Contardi, Brandt & Hochman. (July) [/em]