The Unready Queen by William Ritter
Human and goblin brothers Cole and Tinn are finding their way back to normal after their journey to the heart of the Oddmire. Normal, unfortunately, wants nothing to do with them. Fable, the daughter of the Queen of the Deep Dark, has her first true friends in the brothers. The Queen allows Fable to visit Tinn and Cole as long as she promises to stay quiet and out of sight—concealing herself and her magic from the townspeople of Endsborough.
But when the trio discovers that humans are destroying the Wild Wood and the lives of its creatures for their own dark purposes, Fable cannot stay quiet. As the unspoken truce between the people of Endsborough and the inhabitants of the Wild Wood crumbles, violence escalates, threatening war and bringing Fable’s mother closer to the fulfillment of a deadly prophecy that could leave Fable a most Unready Queen.
Expected publication: June 2nd 2020 by Algonquin Young Readers
This is a book two, so there are spoilers for book one below.
I loved The Unready Queen so much! Fable was definitely a standout, but I also loved the lessons we can all learn, not matter what age we are.
The Queen of the Dark Deep, Raina, has a daughter named Fable. Fable is half fairy and her magic is strong. It’s also hard for her to control. Raina works with her constantly, trying to get Fable to understand how important it is. Raina communicates with the forest and Fable will need to when she takes over. Fable is stubborn and also seems to believe she’s a failure that won’t learn. Raina is worried because Fable’s magic is already stronger than most that have practiced for years. The Wild Wood has been acting off lately and Raina is worried.
Tinn and Cole are still living with their mother, Annie. Tinn is spending time with the goblins, trying to learn how to be one. He was in school one day when his hand started to transform and he couldn’t stop it. He ran outside and his crush/friend, Evie, found him. Evie saw what happened, but she wasn’t afraid. She was intrigued. Evie’s different, too. She’s very small and got bullied a lot. Fable appears and surprised both of them. She’s excited to have a new friend in Evie and wants to try school. Fable with humans was perfect. I loved her innocence and she made me laugh a lot.
“Have you any experience in algebra?” “Not yet, but Annie Burton told me all about them. I’ll probably get to wear one when I’m older.”
A new man shows up in town to drill near the Wild Wood. Weird things start happening and he told the people that the magic creatures from the forest were behind everything. He was causing concern and damage to everything and a war would likely start over it. The Oddlings and fair folk were going to protect the Wild Wood, no matter what.
I loved the friend group of Tinn, Cole, Evie, and Fable. I can’t wait to read more with the four of them.
I gave this 4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5. Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for my review copy.
Have you read the Oddmire books yet? Are they on your TBR?
Confessions of a YA Reader 