Catherynne M. Valente

[a:Catherynne M. Valente|338705|Catherynne M. Valente|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220999852p2/338705.jpg]'s award-winning [b:In the Night Garden|6156690|In the Night Garden (The Orphan's Tales, #1)|Catherynne M. Valente|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1432316335s/6156690.jpg|196179] is a stunning achievement. A girl, cursed with mysterious dark colouring around her eyes, lives wild in the magnificent gardens of a royal palace. One day she's sought out by a boy prince, to whom she reveals her secret: the dark rings around her eyes are actually infinitesimally tiny writing spelling out magical stories. She begins to tell him what's written on her skin. Her tales twist, branch and fold back upon one another in marvelous intricacy. Witches, skin-changers, djinns, wizards, living Stars, maidens, monsters, orphans and many other fantastic creations populate Valente's richly woven tapestry. This novel is such a gorgeous thing to experience because it brings back the childhood joy of discovering the magic of storytelling and just how far a really good story can take you.… (mere)

All Osmo Unknown wants is to venture out beyond his small town of Littlebridge - and to be known as something other than a turnip. One day, his mother accidentally kills a Quidnunk, a fearsome and intelligent creature that lives deep in the woods. This shouldn’t have anything to do with Osmo, except there was a treaty between the Quidnunx and the people of Littlebridge that was forged hundreds of years ago.

Accompanied by a half-badger/half-wombat named Bonk and an antisocial pangolin girl named Never, Omsmo must embark on a quest to find the Eightpenny Woods - the kingdom where all the forest creatures go when they die - to make amends.

This took me a little bit to get into it. I knew it was going to be good, but my attention for it didn’t truly catch on until a little over 100 pages in, once all the group had been assembled.

As much as Bonk initially annoyed me, the more and more I got to know him, the more I understood and liked him. I even started writing down my favorite insult names he used: ornery wee fork, ya dropped egg, absolute doorknob, trashcake supreme. I loved Never off the bat and loved every inch of her antisocial self.

There’s a narrator you see only in the beginning and towards the end, that breaks the fourth wall between the narrator and the reader - otherwise it’s told in third person through Osmo’s POV.

I can see middle grade readers really enjoying this and walking away from the last few pages feeling like they themselves went on an adventure. Even as an adult, I felt that I was just told the most fabulous story sitting around a campfire. Give it a few more pages when you’re getting into it than you probably usually do - but you won’t regret it!… (mere)