Deep Is the Fen

January 15, 2024
A teen girl joins forces with her nemesis to save her best friend from a sinister secret society in this captivating fantasy from Wilkinson (A Hunger of Thorns). Seventeen-year-old Merry Morgan has hated dark magic ever since a witch’s curse killed her mother and imbued Merry with Witch Sight, the ability to see magical energy. Today, her most pressing concern is whether to leave for university to continue competing with academic rival Caraway or stay with her bestie Sol and crush Teddy in the pastoral town of Candlecott, where dark magic is banned. Merry soon learns that Teddy has joined the Toadmen, an exclusive gentlemen’s society steeped in Candlecott tradition. Only Merry can see that the Toadmen are using dark magic to perform illegal rituals, and so she determines to save Teddy before his soul is corrupted. When Caraway offers his aid, the unlikely pair set off on a path that leads to the unearthing of ancient magic, surprise romance, and the unraveling of Merry’s world. An exposition-heavy start gives way to an immersive world in which Wilkinson employs beguiling imagery to craft a thought-provoking love letter to fierce and tenderhearted friendship. Protagonists cue as racially diverse. Ages 14–up. Agent: Katelyn Detweiler, Jill Grinberg Literary.

February 15, 2024
A girl who fears magic comes into her own power as she tries to stop her friend from joining a covert society. Merry, whose mother was cursed by a witch and died, lives in the town of Candlecott in Anglyon, where she's inseparable from her two best friends, Teddy and Sol. Teddy decides to join the Order of Toadmen, "a secret gentlemen's society" whose members wield magic that Merry suspects is both illegal and dangerous. Hoping to protect Teddy, she accepts an offer from Caraway, the boy she's in competition with for the top ranking at school, to attend a mysterious Toad ceremony. There, she uncovers secrets both personal and societal, and her understanding of the world she lives in--and how she should behave in it--is drastically altered. Merry, with her headstrong nature and intense love for her friends and family, is an engaging first-person narrator, and her enemies-to-lovers romance with Caraway unfolds in believable beats; Wilkinson also writes supporting characters like Teddy and Sol in a compelling and nuanced way. The magic system is intriguing, particularly Merry's ability to see the silver and brown mettle, or "strands of life-force," that drives it. The mysteries of the Toadmen keep readers in suspense, with Merry gradually uncovering truths about their rituals that connect to the larger social structure of Anglyon and threaten Merry's own future. Most major characters are pale-skinned; Sol has brown skin. An entertaining, well-characterized foray into a world of magical secrets. (Fantasy. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2024

Gr 8 Up-Wilkinson builds a mysterious world infiltrated by good friendship and dark magic. At 17, Merry is trying to navigate the world without her mom, who was a cursed witch. She protects and relies on her best friends, Teddy and Sol. When Teddy chooses to join a secret society, The Order of the Toadmen, which uses dangerous magic that is considered illegal, Merry knows that she must act to save him. Teaming up with Caraway, who has proven to be her academic competition, she sets out to learn more about the society by attending a toad ceremony. Merry learns plenty about her friendship, herself, dark secrets of the society, and Caraway-who she thought was her enemy, but instead sparks begin to fly. While there, she learns that Sol and Teddy are a couple. Sol is brown-skinned, while other characters are white. Merry's strong first-person narrative, along with solid supportive characters, reveals the importance of friendship. Wilkinson builds a mysterious world and pulls readers inside, unraveling the dark magic and rituals of the Order of the Toadmen. VERDICT The perfect choice for readers who enjoy secret societies with dark magic and mysterious rituals paired with true friendship and unexpected romance. Recommended.-Karen Alexander

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 What others call witch-eyed, Merry calls looking threadwise: she can see magic, but she wants no association with the witches she knows killed her mother. Besides, in Anglyon, where she lives, there are 100 legal, government-sanctioned magical spells, and the witches, who flout the restrictions, are widely feared. For the most part, Merry loves her simple life with her father and her two best friends, Teddy and Sol. And while she's started to dream of more with Teddy, he's dreaming of something else: the Toadmen, an all-male secret society that Merry, whose instincts are better than most, finds ominous. Out of fear for Teddy--and fear of losing him--Merry joins forces with her longtime schoolyard nemesis to investigate a Toadmen ritual, but she's hardly prepared for what she finds. What starts as a slow, occasionally overcomplicated descent into Merry's world soon becomes an immersive, fascinating allegory that tackles, among other things, toxic masculinity and government control over women's bodies. Patient readers will be well rewarded with a nimble, romantic, and clever fantasy that pushes boundaries.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 20, 2024
Lili Wilkinson’s latest fantasy novel is set in the same magical world as her Victorian Premier's Literary Award–winning novel, A Hunger of Thorns. It’s a realm where all magic is controlled by corporations who sell magical disguises and trinkets to the masses. This is the story of three friends—Merry, Sol and Teddy—who, at 17, are inseparable. All Merry wants is one last summer of fun before they all grow up, but fate has different plans. Merry’s dad is a Toadman, a member of a secret society that bans women from entering. She thinks they're harmless until she discovers Teddy intends to join them. Desperate to stop him, Merry sneaks into his initiation with Caraway Boswell, her academic rival, and witnesses forbidden magic. Caraway convinces Merry to accompany him to a secret Toad ritual, promising he will help her rescue Teddy from the Toadmen if she does him a favour. They travel into Deeping Fen, the marshy, dangerous forest, where Merry must escape the Toadmen’s plans and work out who she can trust. Deep Is the Fen is a well-written, romantic fantasy with multi-faceted and engaging characters. The Toadmen are particularly slimy and repugnant, both in behaviour and description. The enemies-to-lovers storyline between Merry and Caraway is sizzling, and the plot thread focused around witches, particularly the Spitalwick Hag, is intriguing. As always, Wilkinson has delivered a compelling novel for young adult readers aged 13 and up.