Author: J. Anderson Coats
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Estranged by Ethan M. Aldridge
Rating:
 |
| a serious journey |
Summary (provided by publisher): An eerie, spine-tingling fantasy about a young girl who discovers two otherworldly children—and an ancient bargain that threatens to destroy them all.
It is the autumn of 1160, and twelve-year-old Agnes is helping with the harvest when she hears a frightened voice calling from the nearby woods. When she goes to investigate, Agnes can’t believe what she sees. There, at the bottom of the deep wolf traps, are two children. They are shouting in a language no one understands—and their skin is bright green.
Agnes soon discovers that these are no ordinary children; in fact, they aren’t even human. They are of the Fair Folk, and they are here to take Agnes home to their world. Trusting that the Fair Folk cannot lie, Agnes agrees to venture underground. But she soon learns just how dangerous their world is—and what it will take to break the ancient bargain meant to keep her there.
My opinion: The tale of the green children has always struck me as inherently silly. Not Coats' version. This is a story that is taken entirely seriously. The beings involved here are not fairies; these are the fae. Immortal, joyless beings that have no care for humans. They make bargains and care only for their own desires. They take people as slaves, are cruel and capricious. It's more than just the cruelty of the faerie, though. It's the harshness of life in the feudal system. It's abandoned children living in a world that looks on them with suspicion and derision. These characters are under threat from the fae, from tha lord of the land, and from their own neighbors. Sure they take care of each other but they also sell one another out for advancement. This leaves us with characters learning to find satisfaction in daily life. There is no happily ever after, only minor victories.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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