Forest of Wonders (Wing & Claw Series #1)

by Linda Sue Park, Jim Madsen (Illustrator)

Overview

From Newbery Medal-winning author Linda Sue Park, this is a captivating fantasy-adventure about a boy, a bat, and an amazing transformation. The first book in an enchanting trilogy, Forest of Wonders richly explores the links between magic and botany, family and duty, environment and home.

Raffa Santana has always loved the mysterious Forest of Wonders. For a gifted young apothecary like him, every leaf could unleash a kind of magic.

When an injured bat crashes into his life, Raffa invents a cure from a rare crimson vine that he finds deep in the Forest. His remedy saves the animal but also transforms it into something much more than an ordinary bat, with far-reaching consequences.

Raffa’s experiments lead him away from home to the forbidding city of Gilden, where troubling discoveries make him question whether exciting botanical inventions—including his own—might actually threaten the very creatures of the Forest he wants to protect.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062327406
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Series:	Wing & Claw Series , #1
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Lexile:	700L (what's this?)
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal winner for A Single Shard and #1 New York Times bestseller for A Long Walk to Water, is the renowned author of many books for young readers, including picture books, poetry, and historical and contemporary fiction. Born in Illinois, Ms. Park has also lived in California, England, and Ireland. She now lives in Western New York. Learn more at lindasuepark.com.

Editorial Reviews

It is a fantasy novel, yes, but it is also a provocative moral tale about the relationship between humans and animals. An Aesop's fable turned inside out…In the end, the ambiguity of the message is one of the novel's strengths. In a genre that often paints good and evil in black and white, Park has written a book with a lot of gray. And green. There's a forest, after all. I look forward to further exploring the Forest of Wonders, and to meeting more talking animals.

The New York Times Book Review - Pseudonymous Bosch

12/21/2015
Through his preternatural apothecarial talents, 12-year-old Raffa Santana restores a bat’s injured wings and apparently gives the creature the ability to speak. Raffa soon discovers that the potent vine he used has other dangerous powers, spurring a journey to the city of Gilden to warn his cousin Garith about its pitfalls. There’s no shortage of action or ethical dilemmas in this endearing tale, first in Park’s (A Long Walk to Water) Wing & Claw trilogy. In the city, Raffa finds himself caring for a pair of raccoon babies and making new friends, including Kuma, a scrappy girl known for taming a mighty forest bear. A malicious plot to use experimental herbal infusions on innocent animals is part of an overarching theme in which Raffa wrestles with how to use his knowledge—for healing or for deception and even willful harm. As in life, the choices are never black and white as Park’s realistically flawed characters struggle between looking out for the greater good or for themselves. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. Illustrator’s agency: Shannon Associates. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

With its engaging hero, talking animals, arcane magic, moral issues, and unresolved plot, this first of a proposed trilogy promises more exciting forest wonders. — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

As in life, the choices are never black and white as Park’s realistically flawed characters struggle between looking out for the greater good or for themselves. — Publishers Weekly

While the adorable talking animals will win hearts, the complex ethical dilemmas Raffa faces about how to use (or not use) his talents lend a maturity to the narrative... True hearts and true friends prevail in Forest of Wonders, and readers will anxiously await the trilogy’s next installment. — Shelf Awareness

A strong addition by a wonderfully talented author to diversify middle grade fantasy collections. — School Library Journal

A provocative moral tale about the relationship between humans and animals.… In the end, the ambiguity of the message is one of the novel’s strengths. In a genre that often paints good and evil in black and white, Park has written a book with a lot of gray. — New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

A provocative moral tale about the relationship between humans and animals.… In the end, the ambiguity of the message is one of the novel’s strengths. In a genre that often paints good and evil in black and white, Park has written a book with a lot of gray.

New York Times Book Review

While the adorable talking animals will win hearts, the complex ethical dilemmas Raffa faces about how to use (or not use) his talents lend a maturity to the narrative... True hearts and true friends prevail in Forest of Wonders, and readers will anxiously await the trilogy’s next installment.

Shelf Awareness

01/01/2016
Gr 4–7—Park's newest foray into fiction is a switch from the historical into the fantastical. In this, the first installment in a trilogy, readers meet Raffa Santana. The young teen protagonist is following in his parents' footsteps and taking on the challenges of apothecary work. Raffa has a deeply profound intuition when it comes to botanical/chemical work. His extreme ability leads him to form uniquely deep relationships with special friends and creatures from the Forest of Wonder. The story is written with skill and well paced. The real beauty in Park's work lies in the relationship she creates between Raffa and Echo the bat. The story contains some high-intensity action scenes that will hook readers. The world-building is intensive; there is clearly a multilayered history and culture underlying the richly detailed setting. This story would be great as a way to create some interest and engagement with students studying chemistry or earth science. VERDICT A strong addition by a wonderfully talented author to diversify middle grade fantasy collections.—Chad Lane, Tulip Grove Elementary School, MD

School Library Journal

★ 2015-11-25
After discovering a vine with powerful properties in the protected Forest of Wonders, 12-year-old Raffa journeys to Obsidia's capital, where he uncovers a sinister government plan to use botanicals to endanger and enslave animals. Raised to be an apothecary like his parents and uncle, Raffa's something of a prodigy. Despite Raffa's "keen instinct for apothecary," though, his father treats him like an apprentice. When Raffa cures an injured bat with a remedy created from a mysterious red vine, the bat is suddenly able to speak. Subsequent work with the vine triggers Raffa's sudden departure to Gilden to warn his uncle and cousin of the plant's potential dangers. In Gilden, Raffa betrays his father's teaching by using apothecary for "his own ends rather than for healing." Reunited with his uncle and cousin, Raffa's eagerness to participate in their groundbreaking work evaporates when he realizes his uncle's involved in horrific experiments with animals. The measured pace builds to a cliffhanging climax as Raffa balances family loyalties, compelling ethical dilemmas, and his role as an apothecary, all at a level completely accessible to the audience. Echo the bat is a particular delight, and among Raffa's new friends in Gilden are dark-skinned Kuma and working-class Trixin. Final art not seen. With its engaging hero, talking animals, arcane magic, moral issues, and unresolved plot, this first of a proposed trilogy promises more exciting forest wonders. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews