Willa of Dark Hollow
(Willa of the Wood #2)
by Robert Beatty
Published by Disney Hyperion
on May 4, 2021
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Ages: 8 - 12 years
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Synopsis:
Plunge into an exciting story of history, mystery, and magic from best-selling author of the Serafina series.
The Great Smoky Mountains, 1901. Willa and her clan are the last of the Faeran, an ancient race of forest people who have lived in the mountains for as long as the trees have grown there. But as crews of newly arrived humans start cutting down great swaths of the forest she loves, Willa is helpless to stop them. How can she fight the destroyers of the forest and their powerful machines? When Willa discovers a mysterious dark hollow filled with strange and beautiful creatures, she comes to realize that it contains a terrifying force. Is unleashing these dangerous spirits the key to stopping the loggers? Willa must find a way to save the people and animals she loves and take a stand against an all-consuming darkness that threatens to destroy her world.
My Thoughts:
Willa and her faeran ancestors have always lived on the smoky mountain but after the events of the first book, Willa of the Wood, her home that once a beautiful den home for her people is now a burnt away husk of what it was and something sinister has grown there in her short absence.
Willa has become one of my new favorite characters. She is truly 'one with the forest', a woodwitch that speaks to all living things in an ancient language, and must save her people, her new family, and her world from destruction.
This sequel is said to be a stand alone companion novel but I will mention that it does continue where Willa of the Wood left off and I would personally recommend reading them together as a duology.
Also, this sequel is a bit darker than the first, with darker themes and creatures and even has a bit of a paranormal twist to it!
These middle grade fantasy novels are beautifully written with lovable characters and nature-based magic. Beatty's atmospheric writing will make you feel like you are right there in the forest with Willa.
Keep an eye out for the film/tv series adaptation, coming soon!
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