Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty - ESSENTIAL

Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty, 376 pages. CHAPTER BOOK. Disney Hyperion, 2018. $17. 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG/PG-13.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL.

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Willa is tasked by her clan leader with stealing goods from settlers in The Great Smoky Mountains, but one night she is shot in the act, only to find compassion from her shooter when he realizes she is a young girl. This begins a chain of events that will change Willa’s life and the life of her clan - events including realizing a dark truth about her clan and remembering ancient ways of living in harmony with the earth, finding friendship with humans, discovering her own mystical power over nature, and saving many people.

Beautiful and captivating from start to finish. The language is mystical in a way, conveying a poetry about nature and our relationship with it. The story moves fast, and with short chapters that keep the pace steady, this is a great book for young readers. That said, there are a couple disturbing scenes of children kidnapped and injured, but they are not graphic. The main character’s age is 12, which seems like an appropriate age for the ideal audience of this book. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher