Meh. Slow plot, infuriating repetitions ("no I, only we"), multiple dei ex machina. Plenty of local geographic details, but not very true-to-life Appalachian culture. ( )

Willa is a type of human called a Faeran. In her clan for is the thief. She steals from the day-folk or humans, because her leader told her that they don’t need that stuff, so she has been stealing from the humans. Willa also believes that the humans are the cause for the trees dying and being torn down. She is the best thief, because she knows what will happen if she gets caught. Her parents and sister got caught and have died, so now Willa lives with her grandmother, who may not be physically strong, but is mentally strong. Willa and her clan live in the smokey mountains, and are surrounded by nature. Nature is a big part of their clan, but Willa does not fully see it that way. She is mostly a 12 year old girl who does what she believes she has to do for her clan. One night Willa breaks into someone’s house which ends in her getting hurt. Even though she is hurt, she is actually saved by a human named Nathaniel. Nathaniel believes that the loggers who are taking his land have also stole his family. However, both Willa and Nathaniel learn that it is actually the leader of the Faeran people that has been stealing the human children. An unlikely friendship happens when Willa and Nathaniel team up to get his family back. Willa slowly gains her strength from her grandmother and learns to love the nature again like the old days of the clan. This book has to deal a lot with community. Both Willa and Nathaniel find themselves without a community and have only each other. .

Willa is an underappreciated asset to the Faeran people, skilled in the old ways and in the modern practices that keep her people alive and safe. Homesteaders have been encroaching on her woods in ever-growing numbers, taking whatever they please and leaving destruction in their wake. The padaran, the Faeran leader, has adopted increasingly harsh practices in an attempt to keep up, but at what cost? The world is changing around Willa, but she when she meets one of the dreaded homesteaders, she quickly discovers that it's not as simple as us-vs-them. It's time to decide whether to blend in or speak out for what she believes in.

Willa is enormously capable, fending for herself without losing her core values. I found myself rooting for her all the way through, and I was surprised at the depth and complexity of the problems she faced. Kids aren't clueless any more than Willa was about the problems in the world, and I found the messages of hope and courage to be perfectly timed for our modern climate. All in all, this is an excellent, engaging story that treats its readers with the respect they deserve.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I enjoyed the Serafina series by Robert Beatty and the first book of his new juvenile fiction Willa series, Willa of the Wood, did not disappoint. Cut in some ways from the same cloth as the Serafina series (and set during the same time frame, I believe), this books is a nature fantasy set in the mountains of western NC. Willa is part of a clan of forest "fairies", the Faeran, whose old ways are dying and are under threat from the modernization happening around them. The themes of family, environment, nature, loss and love are woven lyrically into this middle grade adventure story. ( )

Beatty’s debut, Serafina & the Black Cloak, was at the top of my “Best Of” list for 2015 and I have devoured the two sequels, so picking up Willa of the Wood was a no-brainer for me. I have come to expect lush description, clever plotting, and memorable characters from Beatty, but I was unprepared for the flat-out gorgeousness of Willa of the Wood.

Full review at itsallaboutthebook.org/2018/06/19/willa-of-the-wood-by-robert-beatty/ ( )