Wing & Claw #1: Forest of Wonders - Softcover

Park, Linda Sue

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062327399 ISBN 13: 9780062327390

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2017

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

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)

From the Back Cover

Raffa Santana has always loved the mysterious Forest of Wonders. For a gifted young apothecary like him, every leaf has the potential to unleash a kind of magic.

When an injured bat crashes into Raffa’s life, he invents a cure from a rare crimson vine that he finds deep in the Forest. The powers of the vine are stronger than Raffa could have imagined. 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 who he can trust . . . and whether exciting botanical inventions, including his own, might actually threaten the very creatures of the Forest he wants to protect.

This enchanting new series from Linda Sue Park richly explores the links between magic and botany, family and duty, environment and home.

“A book of many wonders, including lovable young heroes, astonishing apothecary magic, and the funniest talking bat ever.  It’s amazing, unpredictable, and so, so smart; I absolutely loved it!” —Tui Sutherland,  New York Times bestselling author of Wings of Fire

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0062327399
• ISBN 13: 9780062327390
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 352
• Illustrator: Madsen Jim