Review by Booklist Review
As 11-year-old Eliza copes with the disappearance of her mother, she keeps her father and younger sister, Winnie, afloat amidst an odd life on Cape Fen. The cape has a mysterious magic--once a person stays their first winter, they are bound to the land and cannot leave--and only two people have managed to escape, by bargaining with Baron Dire, the local witch. One of those individuals happened to be Eliza's mother, so when the baron and his wolf companion show an interest in Winnie, Eliza becomes determined to unravel the mystery of her mother's bargain, the baron's magic, and Winnie's place in it all. Brandt's striking debut is eerie and intriguing, set in a deftly built world that feels both cozily familiar and unsettlingly odd. The dreamy descriptions and slow unfurling of secrets are woven together into a beautiful and gripping story, but the narrative maintains a sweetness through its familial relationships and newly forged friendships. A stunning seaside fairy tale that will absorb readers until the very end.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Debut author Brandt's atmospheric, genre-bending middle grade novel brings grim fairy tale magic to a small peninsular town in the early 20th century. Eliza is just shy of her 12th birthday, yet since her mother's disappearance four years ago she has acted as both mother and sister to her incorrigible eight-year-old sibling, Winnie. A tourist mecca in the summer, Cape Fen has a dark secret: those born there can never leave, and many are tied up in uncanny bargains with the larger-than-life winter visitor Baron Dire and his fearsome companion, the Wolf. When the Wolf returns early and pursues Winnie, Eliza is pulled deep into the mythos of the bargains, determined to save the girl but learning that not all bargains end well for the bargainers. Eliza's courage and devotion to her sister form the nucleus of this tale, which finds a girl quickly growing both as a human and something other. Though the motivations of certain characters may feel nebulous, this fabulist middle grade effectively employs a dream-fueled magic system that reckons with consequences. Ages 8--up. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Bradford Literary. (Apr.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--8--Amid the storms of a cursed island near the turn of the 19th century, 12-year-old Eliza attempts to protect her younger sister Winnie. Now that winter has arrived, the magical Wolf and its master, Baron Dire, have followed. Many of the townsfolk have made bargains with him for the magic he offers. These bargains seem to turn against the people making them, with horrific results and sometimes even death. Eliza's own mother made a bargain to leave them four years ago, and now the Wolf is intent upon attacking her sister. Did someone bargain away Winnie's life? Eliza must work through silence and secrets to find the key to saving her sister. Brandt's debut novel is both chilling and thrilling--the wintry world hides horror in the dark corners with physical and emotional threats. The plot moves quickly, focusing on only one week, but balances action with the angst of emotion; even side characters seem to have deep backstory with their secret bargains and obscured motivations. Each chapter is prefaced with a different character dreaming, which enhances the ethereal tone. With themes of friendship, love, dreams, and sacrifice, this title will find a good home in any classroom or book group. There are some minor rough spots, such as the claim that Eliza's Pa hadn't said her mother's name in four years when he had just used it 10 pages earlier, and an ending that wraps things up slightly too speedily. However, they don't detract much from the tale's magical momentum and lasting sense of luminescence. VERDICT A mesmerizing piece of magical realism packed with mystery, suspense, and, most important, love.--Erin Reilly-Sanders, University of Wisconsin-Madison
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Eliza Serling embarks on a transformative quest when a strange wolf attacks her younger sister.Eliza, nearly 12, lives on Cape Fen with Pa and Winnie, her sister. After her mother's mysterious disappearance four years ago, Eliza stopped dreaming about a future away from Cape Fen and tries to be a sister and mother to Winnie. Baron Dire, descendent of the first Dire Witch, who arrived on Cape Fen in 1811, controls the island, imprisoning its inhabitants for the magic their dreams provide. When the baron's Wolf companion unexpectedly lunges at Winnie, Eliza's stunned: Dire and his Wolf cannot hurt someone unless they have bargained with him, and neither Eliza nor Winnie has ever bargained. Determined to protect Winnie, Eliza searches for clues explaining the Wolf's attack. Did Pa bargain with Dire? Did Aunt Zilpha? Could her missing mother have bargained with Dire to escape Cape Fen? With the Wolf lurking, Eliza discovers surprising things about her origins and her family and eventually realizes she, too, must bargain with Dire if she hopes to save Winnie and herself. Unfolding gradually as Eliza relentlessly pieces the past together, this intriguing mystery culminates in a startling, literally transforming climax. Black-and-white chapter heads echo the dream theme.Laced with dreams, this perplexing fantasy rewards persistent readers. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
