Wing & Claw (1): Forest of Wonders

Description

From Newbery Medal-winning author Linda Sue Park, this is a captivating fantasy-adventure about a boy, a bat, and an amazing transformation. The first book in an enchanting trilogy, Forest of Wonders richly explores the links between magic and botany, family and duty, environment and home. Raffa Santana has always loved the mysterious Forest of Wonders. For a gifted young apothecary like him, every leaf could unleash a kind of magic. When an injured bat crashes into his life, Raffa invents a cure from a rare crimson vine that he finds deep in the Forest. His remedy saves the animal but also transforms it into something much more than an ordinary bat, with far-reaching consequences. Raffa's experiments lead him away from home to the forbidding city of Gilden, where troubling discoveries make him question whether exciting botanical inventions-including his own-might actually threaten the very creatures of the Forest he wants to protect.

Linda Sue Park, recipient of the Newbery Medal for A Single Shard, is the bestselling author of many books for young readers, including picture books, poetry, and historical and contemporary fiction. Born in Illinois, Ms. Park has also lived in California, England, and Ireland. She and her husband, a journalist, now live in Rochester, New York, and have two grown children.

With its engaging hero, talking animals, arcane magic, moral issues, and unresolved plot, this first of a proposed trilogy promises more exciting forest wonders. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) As in life, the choices are never black and white as Park's realistically flawed characters struggle between looking out for the greater good or for themselves. -- Publishers Weekly While the adorable talking animals will win hearts, the complex ethical dilemmas Raffa faces about how to use (or not use) his talents lend a maturity to the narrative... True hearts and true friends prevail in Forest of Wonders, and readers will anxiously await the trilogy's next installment. -- Shelf Awareness A strong addition by a wonderfully talented author to diversify middle grade fantasy collections. -- School Library Journal A provocative moral tale about the relationship between humans and animals.... In the end, the ambiguity of the message is one of the novel's strengths. In a genre that often paints good and evil in black and white, Park has written a book with a lot of gray. -- New York Times Book Review