The Last Windwitch

by Jennifer Adam

Fans of Shannon Hale and Kelly Barnhill will delight in this charming and richly imagined middle grade fantasy debut, featuring a wicked queen, magical animals, a henchman with a golden heart, and a small girl with a great destiny.

Many years ago, in the kingdom of Fenwood Reach, there was a powerful Windwitch who wove the seasons, keeping the land bountiful and the people happy. But then a dark magic drove her from the realm, and the world fell into chaos.

Brida is content in her small village of Oak Hollow. There, she's plenty occupied trying to convince her fickle magic to actually do what it's meant to in her work as a hedgewitch's apprentice-until she accidentally catches the attention of the wicked queen.

On the run from the queen's huntsman and her all-seeing Crow spies, Brida discovers the truth about her family, her magic, and who she is destined to be-and that she may hold the power to defeating the wicked queen and setting the kingdom right again.

• ISBN10: 0062981307
• ISBN13: 9780062981301
• Publish Date: 13 April 2021
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 2 September 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 448
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062981301

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Last Windwitch is a beautifully written coming-of-age middle grade fantasy by Jennifer Adam. Released 13th April 2021 by HarperCollins, it's 448 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Although it's relatively long for a middle grade reader book, the story is so engaging and immersive, and the narrative moves along so quickly that the reader is drawn along. I enjoyed Brida's story and the way the author builds up the world (including the animal characters and magical aspects). Even though this is a self-contained and complete story, I really hope the author has more stories for us in this world. The dialogue flows very well and the characters really seemed three dimensional and believable.

Five stars. This story has really stayed with me. I would recommend it for public or school library acquisition, readers of all-ages fantasy, and speculative fiction. I *sincerely* hope this one is a prime pick when next year's Nebula nominations roll around (yes, it really is that good).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.