Pages: 406
Genres: Coming of Age, Dystopian, Fantasy, Young Adult
ASIN: B0DCZ2D8L1
ISBN: 9798336021028
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Source: ARC, Netgalley
"Why do we grow more scared as we get older?"
Hundreds of seasons ago, a wizard's war scarred the earth, leaving a malevolent fog blanketing the land, and carrying the settlements within it like ships adrift at sea. The phantoms the fog creates are deadly to adults, so children must guard the walls now, and care for each other.
Ogma watches the fog from the walls of her windmill town. What felt like a game as a child becomes more of a creeping dread with each season she gets older.
"Because we know better."
Ogma's town is attacked—caravaners who roam the fog in inhuman forms have come to kidnap the children, and Ogma is lost in the fog. She must find hope, find courage in herself, and find her friends.
Tropes:
- Cozy Fantasy
- Magical Realism
- Small Town Secrets
- Whimsical Atmosphere
- Personal Growth
My Review
This book was something special. I wasn’t expecting much while I dove into it, I’ve had a string of flops lately, I was expecting another, but boy was I blown away when I read this one.
I normally read books based on older characters, but the MC in this book is a teenager and I absolutely adored her, she was full of sass, strength and held everyone she knew as close to her as family. She felt emotions deeply but also showed how powerful her inner strength was in times of trouble.
The story is based around a village surrounded by a spooky fog, there are others of course, but this particular village is central to the story, they communicate on patrol using bells, now I couldn’t shake the idea of cowbells for a while, not sure why, but I’m sure they were more like jingly bells.
The world is rich with phantom creatures, beautiful tree folk, wizards, animal type humans, fog dwelling beasts, puppeteers, and intense yet endearing mystery!
I loved following the journey of the characters, I felt invested in their lives and was holding my breath waiting for answers to come!
This book gave me a sense of a misfit family, all of these people who have been raised together but aren’t related, taking care of each other. It felt bittersweet, knowing that it was forced upon them, being separated from any kin, and made to live a life to protect adults. To be a parent figure to other youngsters, any bonds made likely to be separated once again.. Thus the family is ever expanding, but the stories told will last for many seasons.
They share a living space, cozy and take their mission very seriously so when it all goes to shit, they all have each others backs. The bonds made in this book stand the test of time and distance.
I wasn’t expecting the mega curveball ending, that was a right knock out! Well played, my friend. I truly hope there’s a follow up book to this because I loved it so much. It wasn’t so much as a cliffhanger, I just feel like I want to be lost in the fog with this story a while longer yet, like there’s more to say!
I will recommend this book, and really hope it gains some further attention, as it was such a pleasant and mysterious read! A nice clean one too!
A well deserved 4* shiny stars from me!
“Now, we sail the fog!”
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