The Oddmire, Book 1: Changeling (The Oddmire)

by William Ritter

Magic is fading from the Wild Wood. To renew it, goblins must perform an ancient ritual involving the rarest of their kind - a newborn changeling. But when the fateful night arrives to trade a human baby for a goblin one, something goes terribly wrong. After laying the changeling in a human infant’s crib, the goblin Kull is briefly distracted from his task. By the time he turns back, the changeling has already perfectly mimicked the human child. Too perfectly: Kull cannot tell them apart. Not knowing which to bring back, he leaves both babies behind.

Tinn and Cole are raised as human twins, neither knowing what secrets may be buried deep inside one of them. Then when they are twelve years old, a mysterious message arrives, calling the brothers to be heroes and protectors of magic. The boys must leave behind their sleepy town of Endsborough and risk their lives in the Wild Wood, crossing the perilous Oddmire swamp and journeying through the Deep Dark to reach the goblin horde and discover who they truly are.

In The Oddmire 1: Changeling, the New York Times bestselling author of the Jackaby series brings to life a bold new adventure, the first in a series about monsters, magic, and mayhem.

• ISBN13: 9781616208394
• Publish Date: 1 September 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 6 March 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Algonquin Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: http://melia.co.uk/page/detail/?k=9781616208394

Reviews

[alisoninbookland]

Thanks for Algonquin for the finished copy.


Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Youtube

Doesn’t have the zany, quirkiness that I love from the Jackaby series. [There is a quick nod to Jackaby though!] It is silly but in a way that kids/tweens can appreciate.

I love the variety of creatures in the book.

Beautiful story of adoption and the power of family. Seriously though, if you know a young one who is struggling to find their place due to adoption/fostering/other family issue, give them this book.

Family is family is family and this book shows what parents/grown ups mean when they call a young one family & how they’ll do anything for the young one.

Serious props to Tinn & Cole’s mom. She gets her own adventure. There’s no sitting around hoping everything works out for the best here. Each set of people (Mom & Boys) are willing to do whatever it takes.

All in all, a delightful adventure featuring goblins and fun creatures.

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available to purchase on July 16th.

After reading and loving William Ritter’s adult series, the first of which is titled Jackaby, I was desperate to get my hands on this book as soon as possible. And I am so, so glad that I was able to! It’s fantastic. There isn’t a single thing that could possibly have been improved.

I love that the main characters are twins, but each has a very distinct personality. While both boys were great characters, I have a soft spot for Tinn. His sweet, anxious nature reminds me very much of my oldest child. I also loved their mom, who goes charging in to the Oddmire after her boys, exactly as any caring mom would do.


REPORT THIS AD

The main characters are easy to relate to, and the storyline is wonderful. There are fantastical creatures aplenty (Hinkypunks! How cool is that?), danger around every turn, and a subtle, but sweet message about being who you are- no matter what.

I could go into all the reasons a parent or teacher should love this book: it talks about feeling like you don’t belong, conquering your fears, and that those differences are gifts. Each twin sees good things in the other that the other hasn’t realized about himself, which is something that I think a lot of people do; they tend to think everyone else has everything figured out. I could talk about how the book doesn’t talk down to its intended age group, how it showcases the power of love.

Or I could just talk about how amazingly fun this book is! I’ll be buying a copy for my son, and I encourage every child (or child-at-heart) who enjoys a good fantasy to pick this book up.