The Wren Hunt

by Mary Watson

Overview

Thrilling, atmospheric, and filled with ancient magic, this lyrically written YA debut is perfect for readers of The Raven Cycle and Wink Poppy Midnight.

Once a year, Wren is chased through the woods near her rural Ireland hometown in a warped version of a childhood game. Her pursuers belong to the judges, a group in control of an ancient, powerful magic they stole from her own people, the augurs . . . but they know nothing of her real identity. If they learned the truth, the game would surely turn deadly.

Though she knows the risks, Wren also goes on the hunt, taking a dangerous undercover assignment as an intern at enemy headquarters, the Harkness Foundation. If she can uncover a long-buried secret, she can save her family and end the judges' reign once and for all.

But as the web of lies, deceit, and betrayal thickens around Wren, she hurtles toward a truth that threatens to consume her and reveal who she really is. Not only has she come to the attention of powerful judge Cassa Harkness, but she is also falling dangerously in love with the one person she shouldn't. And she may need to decide which she'd rather lose, her heart or her life.

This spellbinding YA debut from Mary Watson is part thriller, part love story and entirely captivating.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681198590
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	11/06/2018
Series:	Wren Hunt Series , #1
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Mary Watson grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, where she worked as an art museum guide, library assistant, actress in children's musicals, front-of-house duty manager, and university lecturer. She now lives on the west coast of Ireland with her husband and three young children. After publishing a short story collection and novel for adults, she fell in love with the brave girls in YA books, which inspired her to write her debut novel for teens, The Wren Hunt.

www.marywatsonbooks.com

@stonemadonna

Editorial Reviews

[R]eminiscent of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle . . . Watson brings a deep and visceral voice to old stories as well as an authentic and modern urban sensibility, making this a highly stylized read.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“Watson's core characters . . . enchant. Calista is a nuanced, sympathetic antagonist; Wren's struggles between love and duty, fate and free will are transfixing; and Wren and Tarquin's forbidden romance feels at once modern and folkloric.” —Publishers Weekly

“The mythology introduced in this debut is lovely and haunting . . . [For] readers who loved the dark lore and lyrical language of Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood.” —Booklist

“Lush. . . [G]ood for fans of Maggie Stiefvater and Holly Black.” —Kirkus Reviews

“In this moody magical thriller, a girl with a secret identity and a talent that doubles as a curse has to outwit her enemies, survive her own damaging power, and follow her heart. For fans of . . . [t]he Shannara Chronicles.” —Buzzfeed

“Wren's a feisty but vulnerable hero . . . Readers who enjoy the mix of modernity and mythology of Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle will find that same blend here.” —BCCB

“[A] compelling take on druid mythology combined with a dash of family mystery. . . . The novel asks how knowledge not only defines but also changes someone, engendering interesting surprises.” —Foreword Reviews

“This book will be a great read for those who enjoy fantasy, romance, and a little bit of mystery.” —School Library Connection

“The Wren Hunt rings with ancient, subtle magic, masterfully transmuted into words. A tale that gets into your bones.” —Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of THE BONE SEASON

From the Publisher

2018-08-20

Augurs scry prophecies from patterns, but 17-year-old Wren Silke is uncertain about her own future.

Raised by her gruff grandfather Smith, Wren distrusts her own dark powers of apophenia but yearns to protect her "grove" of fellow augurs in Kilshamble, Ireland. To help the augurs in their secret war against the fearsome, violent judges, Wren reluctantly goes undercover, intending to find the Daragishka Knot and restore the augurs' power sources. Interning at the judge stronghold of Harkness House, Wren must deflect the avid attention of Calista Harkness; avoid Calista's nephew, predatory bully David; and struggle with her crush on brooding bruiser Tarc. Wren's visible differences—she is half-white, half-other, dark-haired and brown-skinned, courtesy of an absent, perhaps Indian father—are less about ethnic identity and more symbolic. Wren suffers from "Chosen One" syndrome—i.e., inexplicable allure, checklistlike prophecy, pivotal role in mythic battle—but is oddly passive; after Wren experiences Betrayal and Sacrifice, Surrender (the third element of the story surrounding the Knot) seems like an inevitability rather than a choice. Watson (The Cutting Room, 2013, etc.) excels at the quotidian details, but the fantastic elements are ill-explained and impressionistic: The Knot is a confusing MacGuffin, the magical terminology clunky, and the mythology contradictory.

Lush, if meandering and muddled; good for fans of Maggie Stiefvater and Holly Black. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews