The Horn Book Magazine
**STARRED REVIEW** "The tone here is pitch-perfect, capturing that particular fairy-tale flavor of the absurd mingling with the deeply serious; slapstick alongside real suspense; and language being bent, re-purposed, and enjoyed for its own deliciousness."
Booklist
"Preus grounds the fantasy by detailing the skewed reality of Tag’s everyday life before leaving home and by keeping her thoughts and emotions at the forefront during her journey. . . An engaging adventure story well suited to reading aloud."
New York Times bestselling author of The Night Gar Jonathan Auxier
"Windswept is a pure delight. Tag's story is one of our past and future—and the ways that stories can shape our destiny. I loved every moment."
From the Publisher
"Windswept is a pure delight. Tag's story is one of our past and future—and the ways that stories can shape our destiny. I loved every moment."—Jonathan Auxier, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Gardener and Sweep
**STARRED REVIEW** "Inspired primarily by the Norwegian fairy tale “The Three Princesses in the Mountain Blue,” this edgy, somewhat dystopian tale set in a world where race holds no significance masterfully blends European fairy-tale motifs with timely warnings about human greed, waste, and destructiveness while extoling the power of storytelling. . . An inventive, memorable must-read." —Kirkus Reviews
**STARRED REVIEW** "Her hypnotic writing will tug at readers’ hearts and keep them mesmerized. Veve’s illustrations and maps add interest and enhance the text. This must-read grand adventure with unlikely heroes will appeal to all fantasy lovers."
—School Library Journal
"Preus grounds the fantasy by detailing the skewed reality of Tag’s everyday life before leaving home and by keeping her thoughts and emotions at the forefront during her journey. . . An engaging adventure story well suited to reading aloud."—Booklist
"Via sensate prose (outside “tasted sweet and spicy and slightly dangerous”) and jam-packed worldbuilding that borrows from Norwegian fairy tales, Preus smartly employs the fairy tale form to investigate ethics around avarice, exploitation, and communal priority."—Publishers Weekly
**STARRED REVIEW** "The tone here is pitch-perfect, capturing that particular fairy-tale flavor of the absurd mingling with the deeply serious; slapstick alongside real suspense; and language being bent, re-purposed, and enjoyed for its own deliciousness."—The Horn Book Magazine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-06-22
An unlikely hero embarks on a quest to find her missing sisters.
In Tagalong’s world, youngers under 15 are not allowed Outside their homes to avoid being swept away by snow squalls. The Powers-That-Be preserve the status quo while outlawing books and fairy tales as dangerous. Seven years ago, Tag’s three sisters—Lily, Rose, and Iris—vanished in a squall. Tag, now 13, has never been Outside until the day she receives an invitation to a meeting. Discovering a book of fairy tales hidden in an attic wardrobe, Tag takes it with her as she escapes Outside to meet Finn, the boy who invited her, and three younger boys. They’re poised to journey into the Unknown to find their windswept siblings. Not sure she really belongs with them, Tag nevertheless joins along and, after Finn vanishes, distracts and inspires them with remarkable stories from her book. Aided by three spellcasting sisters, various magical objects, and some trickery, Tag emerges as a determined and creative hero as she confronts treacherous danger alone in a dramatic climax. Inspired primarily by the Norwegian fairy tale “The Three Princesses in the Mountain Blue,” this edgy, somewhat dystopian tale set in a world where race holds no significance masterfully blends European fairy-tale motifs with timely warnings about human greed, waste, and destructiveness while extoling the power of storytelling. Richly descriptive prose and delicate, atmospheric black-and-white illustrations enhance the fairy-tale flavor.
An inventive, memorable must-read. (map, author’s note, list of fairy tales, bibliography) (Fantasy. 10-14)
