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From New York Times bestselling YA author Rebecca Mix comes the first book in a breathtaking middle grade fantasy duology about a young fairy who has always lived in her heroic grandmother’s shadow but now must step up and embark on a quest to save her mother from the ever-creeping mold overtaking their world. Perfect for readers who loved Brandon Mull's Fablehaven, The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, and Endling: The Last by Katherine Applegate. The mold takes all. Twelve-year-old fairy Canary Mossheart knows this better than most. A few years ago, the mold took her papa, and even her famous, former-chosen-one Gran never found a cure. So when Ary's beloved mama falls ill, Ary decides it’s taken enough. Armed with only a bucket and a prayer, she sneaks out to find a magical, underground lake whose healing waters are straight out of Gran’s adventures. But when Ary gets there, the lake’s bone dry, and instead of healing waters, she finds a terrifying secret: Her entire world is actually trapped inside a giant terrarium—one they were meant to leave centuries ago. Worse, Gran knew and hid the truth, dooming Ary and her generation to a dying, rotting world. Now, allied with only her doomsday-obsessed frenemy, a timid pill bug, and a particularly grumpy newt, Ary has one week to unravel the clues and find a way out of the terrarium—or they’ll be trapped for good. .
Publication Year: 2024
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0~~Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!~~
I just loved the world of this book. The dying terrarium with mold sucking the life out of the ground and infecting/killing little fairies and creatures alike is such a fantastic premise, and Mix definitely ran with it fast. Mix was unafraid to show the horror and creepiness, displaying it fully and unapologetically. I have no doubt in my mind that this will probably give kids nightmares after they read it, but they'll love it, all the same.
Ary was also a very delightful protagonist. Scared as all hell but still brave and kind, even to those who hate her because of her grandmother. She doesn't want to bare the weight of saving broken world she was inherited by generations before, a feeling people my age know very well, but it is the love she has for her mom and her new friends that drive her forward. The side cast are also amazing as well, specifically, for me, Sootflank, because the old, grumpy lizard is too enduring not to love.
The only slight irk I have against this book is how repetitive it gets. Ary's thoughts loop around her not being her grandmother and how she wasn't a hero, just a girl wanting to save her mom. I know that is all she could think. given her situation, but reading it over and over got old by the midway point of the story. Luckily, this didn't dampen my enjoyment too much; it's just a slight annoyance.
All in all, a really great read that will certainly traumatize a generation of readers. I cannot wait for the sequel and see what happens next!
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