Book Review: Changeling by William Ritter

Once upon a time there was a goblin named Kull who took on a mission to steal a human baby and leave a changeling in its place. Things being what they were, Kull was interrupted in the process. When he looked back, both babes looked the same and he couldn't pick out the changeling. So, he left them both.

The babies are named Cole and Tinn. They are raised as twin brothers by their mother after their father disappears. When they are 12, Kull comes back and leaves them a note with a map informing them that one of them is a changeling and just return to the goblins or he would die. The boys take this at face value and set out together since they don't know which of them is the changeling either. Adventures ensue.

I like that Cole and Tinn are raised together and that their mother appears to love the pair unconditionally. And she loves them fiercely, protectively. She follows them into the woods seeking them. She isn't passive or evil. I like that it doesn't matter to the boys or their mother that one of them is a changeling.

The pace of the book is generally fine. There are a few places where it slows down a little, but it still manages to keep the reader's attention. You will want to know what happens next.

There is an overall feeling of fantasy and fairy tale to the story. There are these two boys who go into the Wild Wood and the Oddmire. This is what they find there and what happens to them.

This book is aimed at middle-graders. It takes place in the same world as the young adult Jackaby series. I don't read many middle-grade books, but this one is definitely worth a read. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend it primarily for kids who enjoy fantasy and fairy tales. The evil they encounter may seem too scary for some, but generally the level of danger is acceptable. Overall, it is a good book with themes of family and unconditional love that is worth the time to read alone or together with an adult.

Changeling book one in the Oddmire series by William Ritter was published July 16th, 2019 by Algonquin Young Readers.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Blog Tour excerpt: The Oddmire Book One: Changeling by William Ritter

Today I have something a little different for you. As part of a blog tour, I have an excerpt from the first book in a new series for middle readers called The Oddmire by William Ritter. Book one is Changeling. This new series is written by the same author that did the Jackaby series and is set in the same world as Jackaby.

From the press release: This “captivating series opener” (Booklist) introduces two brothers as they follow a curious map into a magical wood, leading them on a journey to discover which one of them is human and which is the changeling. Like Jackaby, THE ODDMIRE features witches, shape-shifters, and other creatures of fairytale and folklore, traditional and original from the mind of William Ritter.

Changeling by William Ritter was published July 16th, 2019 by Algonquin Young Readers. Thanks to Algonquin for supplying the excerpt.

Excerpt:

PROLOGUE

A VERY LONG TIME AGO, HUMANS AND FAIRIES and elves and dolphins and all of the other intelligent beings of the world got sick of one another—which was understandable, as intelligent beings were all pretty much rubbish in those days. After much arguing, they decided to split up the world and build a sort of magical wall between the two halves. On the human side of the barrier, life would be governed by logic and reason and the laws of nature. It would be an honest world of soil and struggle. The other side would be ruled by forces more ancient than any earthly science, a world of magic and madness and raw potential. Humans called their side the Earth, and magical beings called their side the Annwyn (all except for the gnomes, who called it Pippin-Gilliewhipple—which is one of many reasons that, to this day, nobody from either side much cares for gnomes).

 For many centuries, the wall stood—a sort of veil between two worlds, invisible but everywhere. Neither side could see or touch the other, and in time many creatures forgot there was another world at all. This remained the state of things until rogue groups brought their simmering strife to an unruly boil and a new war broke out. As it turned out, intelligent beings were still fairly rubbish if not properly supervised. The resulting battle blasted a great, gaping hole right through the invisible barrier.

 When the dust had settled, some felt the hole in the wall should be patched back up, and others felt the barrier should come down entirely. In all the hubbub, nobody noticed as the thing that had been inside the wall—the thing that may have been the very soul of the wall—escaped. Nobody was watching as the thing that had spent countless centuries listening at the cracks and growing hungrier and hungrier slipped past the rubble and across the bloody battlefield. Nobody saw it slide quietly into the forest.

 The Thing clutched at shadows as it moved between the trees, drawing the darkness around itself like a riding cloak. It had never known sunlight, or birdsong, or honey-sweet breezes, or even the sound of its own name. If the Thing even had ever had a name, it had never had anyone to speak it.

 The Thing whipped past mossy boulders, through towering trees, and over the muggy, murky Oddmire. When it reached the very heart of the Wild Wood, it finally slowed and came to rest. The trees grew more densely there, and the air was still. Even the sound of the birds died away. The shadows here were thick and heavy, and the Thing gathered them up, greedily.

 The Thing knew shadows. In that sunless, starless place between worlds, there had been shadows so absolute they had no form. The Thing’s whole world had been a shadow—its whole life had been one great shadow, and within it, the Thing had felt impossibly small. But the shadows in this new place were different. They would do as it bid them. They were powerful, those shadows of stones and boulders and tall pine trees, and the pieces torn from them felt comfortable as they knit together across the Thing’s back. The Thing felt strong. Beneath its swelling cloak of darkness, the Thing began to take on new shapes. Bigger shapes. Terrible shapes. Still, there was one shadow that caught the Thing like a thorn: its own. The creature’s meager slip of a shadow followed it, clung to it, taunted it with its own true, trifling form. 

The creature plunged its talons into the forest floor, and for a time, the only sound was the scratching of unseen claws digging into the soil. When the hole was deep enough, the Thing turned its talons in on itself. It tore and it ripped until finally, reverently, it lowered its own severed shadow into the cold earth and buried the humble scrap beneath the dirt. All around it, pools of darkness blossomed as if the entire forest floor were a fresh, clean napkin laid over a seeping ink stain.

 The darkness grew.

 The Thing drew itself up to its full height, and then it drew itself up a little higher, and higher still. Countless stolen shadows rippled along its cloak like waves of grain shimmering in a breeze. The Thing would be whatever it pleased now. It was never going back.

The darkness spreading across the forest floor solidified into angry coils and knots as it grew. Wicked thorns burst from its surface. For just a moment, there was silence and the forest was still. And then the darkness began to creep.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: William Ritter is an Oregon author and educator. He is the proud father of the two bravest boys in the Wild Wood, and husband to the indomitable Queen of the Deep Dark.The Oddmireis Ritter’s first series for middle-grade readers. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling, award-winning Jackaby series for young adult readers. Visit him online at rwillritter.wordpress.com and find him on Twitter: @Willothewords.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #288: Changeling (The Oddmire #1) by William Ritter

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From Goodreads:

Magic is fading from the Wild Wood. To renew it, goblins must perform an ancient ritual involving the rarest of their kind—a newborn changeling. But when the fateful night arrives to trade a human baby for a goblin one, something goes terribly wrong. After laying the changeling in a human infant’s crib, the goblin Kull is briefly distracted from his task. By the time he turns back, the changeling has already perfectly mimicked the human child. Too perfectly: Kull cannot tell them apart. Not knowing which to bring back, he leaves both babies behind.

Tinn and Cole are raised as human twins, neither knowing what secrets may be buried deep inside one of them. Then when they are twelve years old, a mysterious message arrives, calling the brothers to be heroes and protectors of magic. The boys must leave behind their sleepy town of Endsborough and risk their lives in the Wild Wood, crossing the perilous Oddmire swamp and journeying through the Deep Dark to reach the goblin horde and discover who they truly are.

Changeling (The Oddmire Book One) by William Ritter is expected to be published July 16th, 2019 by Algonquin Young Readers.

Why am I waiting on this one? I like that it's set in the same world as the Jackaby series. And I like the idea of the two boys being raised up as twins not knowing which one of them is the changeling. I can't recall reading a similar tale before. 

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!