Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Publication Date: August 18, 2009
It’s been revealed that the Igiby children are actually the precious and extremely sought-after Jewels of Anneira: King, Throne Warden, and Song Maiden. This revelation has dictated the need for Janner, Tink (now Kalmar), and Leeli, along with Podo, Nia, and of course Peet The Sock Man, to head north to the Ice Prairies in Andrew Peterson’s second installment of the Wingfeather Saga, North! Or Be Eaten (see review of Book 1).
Adventures galore follow, as one obstacle after another puts the children to the test, revealing moments of cowardly shame, only to be redeemed by brave feats of courage and self-sacrifice. Readers are taken on a roller coaster of emotions, as Peterson doesn’t shy away from dark themes and settings here (the scenes with Janner in the black box are particularly difficult), but he never fails to bring that “pinprick of light” through the darkness as themes of redemption abound.
Whereas the first book in the series was a little slow for the first half as Peterson had to lay a lot of groundwork to develop the characters and vast world he’d created, book two hits the ground running and never stops. The action is non-stop, plot twists are interesting, the characters are hilarious, the settings fascinating, and the ending perfect. The story engages your imagination and gives you permission to experience it as a child.
While trying to conjure up adjectives to describe the wonderful story Peterson has created here, the only word I kept coming back to was “magic.” This isn’t Harry Potter; there are no spells or wizards or anything like that, but the themes themselves are magical. I feel like a 10-year-old even writing those things, but I think that’s the point.
At one point, Oskar Reteep, the overweight book-lover, makes this statement:
“Here I sit in the presence of queens and heroes and magic. Yes, magic. It is only when we have grown too old that we fail to see that the Maker’s world is swollen with magic – it hides in plain sight in music and water and even bumblebees” (p. 279).”
Reteep was stating my own feelings when he said that. In a cold, cynical, dark world, we long for something magical, something that reveals the Maker’s power and the awe of redemption. That’s what this book was able to do for me (that and make me long for the third installment in the series). It might be classified as Young Adult Fiction, but I think its engaging brand of storytelling will connect with the young person inside many adults as well, giving you an excuse and reason to believe, even if just briefly as an escape, in the magic of stories and the power of redemption.
- Recommended.
