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    Winterling
    Winterling
    Winterling
    Audiobook6 hours

    Winterling

    Written by Sarah Prineas

    Narrated by Erin Moon

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    “We live here, my girl, because it is close to the Way, and echoes of its magic are felt in our world. The Way is a path leading to another place, where the people are governed by different rules. Magic runs through them and their land.”

    With her boundless curiosity and wild spirit, Fer has always felt that she doesn’t belong. Not when the forest is calling to her, when the rush of wind through branches feels more real than school or the quiet farms near her house. Then she saves an injured creature—he looks like a boy, but he’s really something else. He knows who Fer truly is, and invites her through the Way, a passage to a strange, dangerous land.

    Fer feels an instant attachment to this realm, where magic is real and oaths forge bonds stronger than iron. But a powerful huntress named the Mór rules here, and Fer can sense that the land is perilously out of balance. Fer must unlock the secrets about the parents she never knew and claim her true place before the worlds on both sides of the Way descend into endless winter.

    Sarah Prineas captivates in this fantasy-adventure about a girl who must find within herself the power to set right a terrible evil.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJan 3, 2012
    ISBN9780062132628
    Author

    Sarah Prineas

    Sarah Prineas lives in the midst of the corn in rural Iowa, where she wrangles dogs, cats, chickens, and goats, goes on lots of hikes, and finds time to write. She is also the author of Ash & Bramble, a retelling of Cinderella. She is married to a physics professor and has two kids. You can visit Sarah online at www.sarah-prineas.com.

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    Reviews for Winterling

    4/5

    71 ratings9 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Very different than Magic Thief.
    • 5/5
      This was another delightful fantasy from Sarah Prineas. This one features a strong female heroine. Fer is a middle schooler being raised by her grandmother after her mother and father "had gone from this world." Fer always thought that this was a metaphor for dying. At least she thought so until she rescued a dog that turned into a boy and then followed him home through a pond into a strange, sick world where it was always winter. The Mor is ruling this land and wants to convince Fer to be her follower and ally. Fer gets sucked into her glamorie and at first is dazzled by her. But she soon comes to believe that the Lady is the cause of the sickness in the world. She is the one who killed her parents to usurp her mother's power as the true Lady of the land. It is somehow up to Fer to defeat the Lady and restore the land.I loved the wonderful creatures in this one. The boy Fer rescues is a Puck who is able to turn into a dog or a horse and who is bound to the Lady by oaths to serve her. The Lady is surrounded by other wonderful creatures who are losing their grip on their human forms and reverting to their wilding forms. Fer begins by healing some of them using the skills she was taught by her grandmother. This was a great story about a determined heroine who feels a responsibility for the land and a responsibility for the people who live in it. I thought it was excellent. I think this one will be well-received by my middle grade fantasy lovers and I can't wait to share it with them.
    • 3/5
      Just fine but a little slow.
    • 5/5
      A delightful read! The theme of belonging and connectedness is constant. Fer is an outsider, but is learning to follow her instincts and trust that she do the right thing. When she goes through the Way, she has to learn quickly to see beyond the surface and "glamorie" of the people around her. She begins to understand that she has more talent and knowledge to draw on than she ever expected and uses her gifts to heal the land and the creatures living there.
    • 3/5
      Solid and entertaining middle grade Finished with a female heroine who goes off to fairy land to fulfil confront the usurping fake fairy queen who makes the land and its creatures sick and seek both her past and her Destiny. It is also one of the few kid's books with a female heroine, other female characters and so far absolutely no romance plot (that's my reason for the three stars instead of two since that means it's an endangered species). It's fast paced and kept my interest enough for me to want To read the sequel, but since I'm an undistinguishing book glutton easily blinded by covers that doesn't really say much.

      Characters
      The characters were ok. Fer, Rook and The Lady did keep my interest and Fer refreshingly DOES things and influences the plot, but some of her decisions she really should have gone over with someone before making them. She does not really prepare for anything, and the world is laid out in a way where she doesn't have to, but I don't really see a reason for that. Being prepared is something that should also happen in middle grade fiction. I had Finished before in other reviews that she has a wild spirit, and upon reflection I think that is because she likes being outside and takes action in a book while being girl. There isn't really any wildness, and this being a stories with fairies in it I would have appreciated a wild spirit.

      I did have problems with the adults around her. Her grandmother is laid back to the point of neglect, and while you can Finished the brief exchange they have about her going off as Fer's will-power to be just too great and destiny calling and all that, but really, there is no reason why it had to go this way. There would have been several responsible reasons to let her go ("We were both going to go but I can't cross over with you", "the land is sick and Only You Can Help"), but instead we get the brief "You can't go!" - "Yes, I can!" - "Oh, alright then"- exchange that I hate when I encounter it in kid's books. Kids can convince adults, but they need reasons, not adults who don't care. I think it's there so we can see that Fer Does What She Wants and her grandmother is fine with it because nobody can hold Fer down, but that's not realistic. Or if it was, other things would be different along with it.

      I did enjoy the fairies and the way they negotiate allegiance in their world of oaths and promises. I didn't enjoy how Fer is so uncaring about it. If someone is magically tied to someone else, you don't keep offering to tell them secrets that can harm them as much as you, and yet she does, with Rook. She never really stops to think about anything, and the world of the book makes it work out for her. The other characters do think and plan and scheme, and that makes them much more interesting than our main lady, to me.

      World Building
      We never learn- or at least I don't remember Finisheding about where Fer lives, normally, but the fact that she seems to speak English, wears western clothes and is brought to school by a bus as well as the nationality of the author suggests the modern USA. Try being a teen and running away from school and you neglecting grandmother for six weeks. There are going to be a whole lot of things that happen to the people in your family if you do that in our world, unless you alFinishedy live in a place that doesn't really care about school attendance. I think that even Fer's grandmother would have mentioned them on her return, but then, who knows with that woman. Fer doesn't really seem to care about school and fair enough, why not have her be home schooled, no attendance issues there. It would also explain why there is nobody from her world apart from her grandmother that she seems to care about.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this story of Fer and her quest to discover why winter's grip on the land isn't loosening... but there was an arm's length quality to the storytelling and the characters that I found disconcerting.
    • 3/5
      It took awhile for me to get past the childish tone of the reader (fear it might turn off some middle-school listeners) otherwise I enjoyed the story - always a fan of female main characters who conquer their worlds!
    • 5/5
      FTC Disclosure: I received an Advance Copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.Winterling by Sarah PrineasFrom the back of the book: With her boundless curiosity and spirit, Fer has always felt that she doesn't belong. She hears the call of the wild wood, of the secrets it whispers to her. But when her grandmother reveals clues about the disappearance of her father and his mystical bond to her mother, Fer begins to unlock the secrets about the parents she never knew. Led to a reflecting pool that uncovers the Way, Fer finds an enchanting dangerous land.In this place cloaked in wonder, where pucks transform from boys to horses, Fer feels a strange magical attachment. But with her mother gone, everything has spun out of order and evil has imprisoned the place in ice. Now it is up to Fer to face down the power Mor, who has cruelly taken over this world and it's people, and discover the legacy she carries within.What I liked about the book: The story is very well written with fully developed characters. It's easy to like everyone but the evil Lady. Prineas has a done a good job at creating a magical world that readers will want to know more about. It's a quick read. Prineas has created a nice balance between adding enough details to keep readers engaged without adding so many complex details that struggling readers might feel compelled to give up on the story. I'm not sure if this will be a series or not. It could easily be a stand alone read (though I hope not) or the beginning of a great new series. It does have a darkish fairy nature to it without being to dark or terrifying. Prineas has truly shown great talent in the balancing of this story. I definitely recommend this for my 4th and 5th grade students who like magical fairy tale adventures.What I didn't like about the book: That it ended so soon. But, perhaps that's not a really a con - shouldn't a good book leave the reader wanting more?This book will be released in January 2012.Recommended for 4th grade and up.Mrs. Archer's rating: 5 of 5
    • 5/5
      I got a copy of this book for review through the Amazon Vine program. It was a wonderful and magical middle grade fantasy full of adventure and magic. Something that can be enjoyed by anyone who loves fantasy and adventure.Fer has always felt like she doesn't quite belong in this world. In the woods one night she rescues a boy, except the boy isn't exactly human. The boy invites Fer into the Way and into a dangerous fairyland. Fer feels strangely at home in this other place but senses that something is out of balance with the land and the huntress, Mor, who rules the land. Now Fer must unravel the mystery behind her past if she is to help prevent eternal winter from gripping both sides of the Way.I loved this book. Fer is such a wonderful character, with her wandering in the woods she seems a bit fanciful at first...then she finds out this strange quirk is exactly what is needed on the other side of the Way. I loved the quirky elements like Fer's strange patchwork coat and her strange type of magic. I also enjoyed the fact that Fer is a strong heroine but different in her strengths than many heroines you see in fantasy literature.Many of the other characters are a lot of fun too. Puck is a fun and complex male lead and some of the side characters (especially the Wolves) added a lot of fun to the story. I enjoyed that all of the characters were a little quirky and different.I also loved the description in the story. Prineas writes in a way that really brings the mysterious wood alive. The plot was a bit predictable, but it was fun to read all the same. The story has such a dark fairy tale vibe to it. I love it when authors can imbue a traditional fairy tale feel to a book, but it comes off as something new and exciting. Although the main part of the story is nicely tied up at the end, there are still a number of questions for Fer and Puck to answer. I look forward to seeing more of their tales in future installments of this series.Overall I really enjoyed this book. It is a quick, fun, and magical read. Fer is a fun heroine, that is strong but in a quirky way. I loved the fun characters, the way magic was blended with nature, and how the story had such a wonderful fairy tale feel to it. Fans of fantasy adventures with a fairy tale feel to them and a strong quirky heroine will find a lot to love in this story. For some reason this book reminded me a bit of Plain Kate by Erin Bow in tone and feel. This is an appropriate read for anyone middle grade or older.