"Well nigh irresistible." —The New York Times

“A glorious fantasy adventure....Brimming with intelligence, inventiveness and generosity of heart.” —The Wall Street Journal

★ "Powerful and charming, Impossible Creatures [is] a modern fantasy with a classic feel. It’s hard not to fall in love with the Archipelago." —BookPage, starred review

"Rundell has a great deal of infectious fun with these creatures. Her grand theme—in worlds both real and imaginary, in the great outdoors and in the human soul—is the vital necessity of wildness.” —The New Yorker

"I heartily recommend it to readers of all ages—especially animal-lovers, lovers of magic, fans of fairy tales, and anyone who needs the comfort of an optimistic, healing story in turbulent times." Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

★ "A bold and unforgettable start to a captivating series. Impossible Creatures places itself in a class all its own." —Shelf Awareness, starred review

“Katherine Rundell is her generation’s J.R.R. Tolkien.” —The Washington Post

★ "An epic fantasy with timeless themes and unforgettable characters." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "A boy with an affinity for animals, a girl who can fly when the wind blows, and a secreted-away world in need of saving propel this realms-roving dazzler. Rundell deploys fresh language, epic stakes, bonds both tender and devastating, and fierce kid characters." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Classic storytelling." —Parade

★ "A quintessential fantasy that will delight readers of all ages." — School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Rundell has delivered a welcome reminder of what makes the genre great. By taking risks, honoring her ancestors, and weaving a magic of her own, she adds her voice to the ancient, ongoing chorus of storytellers." — Booklist, starred review

"Any fan of mythical worlds and creatures will find this adventure an engaging read." —The Bulletin

“An instant classic from one of the most gifted storytellers of our time, Impossible Creatures is an astonishing miracle of a book.” —Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal Winner for The One and Only Ivan

"Entrancing and refreshing."—The Horn Book Magazine

“The action is gripping. Every sentence sparkles.” —The Times (London)

“The most staggering children’s book of the year. A tour-de-force.” —The Telegraph

“An absolute WOW of a book. Utterly enchanting and full of wonder, readers are in for a treat!” — B. B. Alston, author of Amari and the Night Brothers

“Rundell is an extraordinary writer and this first in a fantasy trilogy grips, thrills and moves—sometimes to tears.” —The Daily Mail

“I love Katherine Rundell’s writing. . . . Readers who already know her books will seize this with delight, and new readers will love it and demand all her others at once.” —Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass

★ 2024-05-30
Two young people save the world and all the magic in it in this series opener.

When tall, dark-haired, white-skinned Christopher Forrester goes to stay with his grandfather in Scotland, he ventures to the top of a forbidden hill and discovers astonishing magical creatures. His grandfather explains that Christopher’s family are guardians of the “way through” to the Archipelago, where the Glimourie Tree grows—the source of glimourie, or the world’s magic. Black-haired, olive-skinned Mal Arvorian, a girl from the Archipelago, is being pursued by a murderer, and she asks Christopher for help, launching them both on a wild, dangerous journey to discover why the glimourie is disappearing and how to stop it. Together with a part-nereid woman, a ratatoska, a dragon, and a Berserker, they face an odyssey of dangerous tasks to find the Immortal, the only one who can reverse the draining of magic. Like Lyra and Will from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Mal and Christopher sacrifice their innocence for experience, meeting every challenge with depthless courage until they finally reach the maze at the heart of it all. Rundell throws myriad obstacles in her characters’ way, but she gives them tools both tangible (a casapasaran, which always points the way home, and the glamry blade, which cuts through anything) and intangible (the desire “to protect something worth protecting” and an “insistence that the world is worth loving”). Final art not seen.

An epic fantasy with timeless themes and unforgettable characters. (map, bestiary)(Fantasy. 10-16)