Willa of the Wood

Fantastic story with a moral for boys and girls alike. Themes of protecting the earth and environment reach children at their level

Puedes llegar a sentir lo mismo que con la saga de Serafina. "Magia", misterio por todo lo que rodea a la protagonista

I was gripped from the very beginning. This story was told most beautifully. The language, the way the author describes the Great Smokey Mountains, is wonderfully poetic. The main character is everything a person should be. I was rooting for her along the entire journey. I can't wait to read the sequel and see how Willa handles the logger situation.

This isn’t the usual fare, it really isn’t. It’s the story of 12 year old Willa, a member of the wild Faeran clan in the Great Smoky Mountains, people who used to live close to nature, no actually with nature, but nowadays they steal. And it’s the night Willa steals from one of the human homesteaders that her life gets turned upside down. The Faeran are a magical people, able to do woodmagic, to talk to animals and plants, to blend in their surroundings. Or at least, Willa is able to and she doesn’t tell about her abilities, because the leader of the clan forbids the old ways.He wants the young ones to steal and steal a lot. And when Willa starts to uncover that a lot of the things she was told about humans isn’t actually true and that her clan is on a path that brings it ever further away from its old ways, things get ugly and dangerous for her. But it also sets her on her own hero’s journey that changes her profoundly.I loved Willa! She is a great character and I totally believed her otherness. I appreciated that she isn’t automatically and inherently „good“, but grows into it. She learns from every encounter, be it with animal or people and the relationships she forms were heart-wrenching and wonderful at the same time. And it rattled my brain to think how hard her live just have been and what things she is able to live through… a real heroine.

I received an advanced reader copy of Willa of the Wood which is the first of a new series for middle school students written by author Robert Beatty.Mr. Beatty shares Willa’s perspective as he weaves a magical story that blends the life of this young night spirit into the rich local history of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee people. Willa lives with her 137-year-old mamaw who is one of the last surviving woodwitches from the dwindling clan of Faeran people. This 12-year-old girl has the ability to blend into her forest surroundings and can communicate with nature. Willa has a great respect for her heritage and is determined to preserve the old ways of her clan.In the beginning of this action-packed mystery, Willa unwillingly has become her clan’s best thief. She is forced to go out and steal from the human day-folk each evening, by the padaren, who is the fearsome and selfish clan leader.This intriguing story evolves with increasing suspense as Willa’s loyalty and strength of character is evident as she makes important decisions during her interactions and encounters in an enchanted forest with trees, the river, wolves, bears, deer, otters, homesteaders, Cherokee people, her own clan, and the frightening newcomers with the huge destructive “iron machines” that are “murdering trees.” Willa shows great maturity, compassion, and loyalty as she faces one life-threatening event after another while trying to protect those she loves. She is very brave and is able to “stay bold,” just as the character Serafina does in Beatty’s related Serafina series.Willa is an inspiration for those of us who may need a reminder to respect nature and our environment. She learns how not to be judgmental and offers great lessons in kindness and unselfishness. Robert Beatty has again given his readers a gift with his words. His writing is lyrical. The imagery simply lifts me into the setting where he describes the mountain, “. . . white mist of the Smoky Mountains breath floated near its rounded top out across the world . . .” I still think about the “. . . great healing lake of the bears. . .” that he so beautifully described. I continue to think about the lake that “. . . felt as if the light of the sun had become liquid . . .”  I strongly recommend this book as an especially great read aloud for families or classroom use. The various science, history, and cultural themes make it a wonderful book for classroom teachers and this book will be an excellent resource for teaching context clues.  Willa of the WoodWilla of the Wood