Under Wildwood: The Wildwood Chronicles, Book II
Gr 4-7-After defeating the Dowager Governess in Wildwood (2011), Prue McKeel is happy to be at home with her family and Curtis is content with his life as a bandit. All that changes when the two find out that they are being hunted by wolf assassins. The revolution they helped start in South Wood is close to collapse and someone has placed a bounty on the heads of Prue and her friends. After the death of the Elder Mystic, Prue learns that she has a powerful destiny and that she must somehow reanimate the mechanical prince before the other side does or it could mean the end of Wildwood. On top of all this, Curtis's sisters, who he left behind to join the bandits, are trapped working in a machine parts factory. The sisters could hold the key to Prue's success, but the two sides are not destined to meet in this book. At times the story is heartbreaking, but the characters are resilient and strong.  The ending is not a happy one, but it holds the promise of hope for the future. Colin Meloy narrates his own story (2012, both Balzer + Bray), eloquently capturing the accents and personalities of his characters. Fans of the first book as well as those who enjoyed Trenton Lee Stewart's "The Mysterious Benedict Society" series will be drawn to the vocabulary, moral dilemmas, and clever humor here.-Sarah Flood, Breckinridge County Public Library, Hardinsburg, KYα(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.--This text refers to theAudio CDedition.