Review: Forest of Wonders

Forest of Wonders (Wing & Claw #1) by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by James Madsen.
Harper, HarperCollins, New York, 2016.
MG fantasy, 332 pages + excerpt.
Lexile: 700L .
AR Level: 5.3 (worth 9.0) .

At twelve, Raffa Santana is already a gifted apothecary and finds himself increasingly frustrated with his father’s strict rules. First he can’t make his own herbal cures or enter the forest unsupervised, then his father doesn’t want him to go to the city of Gilden, and of course experimentation is not allowed. But treating a severely injured bat leads Raffa to a series of discoveries about his family, his country, and even the natural world around him that soon have him making his own choices… and dealing with the consequences.

Forest of Wonders by Linda Sue Park.

It wasn’t until trying to review this book that I realized just how many characters and how much plot Park manages to fit into this standard length fantasy -she does it so seamlessly. I’ve read and enjoyed several of her novels before but they were all historical fiction, which made me nervous about how she would do in a fantasy novel. Luckily her experience creating an immersive world in the past translates well to fantastical worldbuilding.

I was torn about the plants themselves. Some were obviously magical, so it made sense to have made-up names and rules for those. Others seemed more based on real life and Park was very cautious about using fictional names for the majority, rarely using words that connected to the real world. At times this felt like a missed opportunity for education, although I also understand the author and publisher’s trepidation. Would children without proper adult supervision and understanding try to recreate some of the tinctures and spells from the book and possibly harm themselves in the process? Or would it have imparted some useful real life knowledge? I regret the lost chance even while I can see why they were reluctant to mix fantasy and reality, especially in an otherwise non-Earth based novel.

Something I’m learning about Park is that she likes to start out in a “normal” state (although what’s normal for her characters might not be normal for the reader) and gradually ratchet up the change and trouble until the plot is suddenly boiling hot. The last third of all her books are usually fairly gripping, even if they might take a little longer to get there. This book also had good characterization – I felt all the characters were real and cared about their outcome (even if I didn’t like them).

The relationship between Raffa and Garith was so well done. They are first cousins who have grown up like brothers, spending every day together and constantly in each other’s business. Park absolutely has the knack of giving us subtle clues through small interactions that build up into nuanced characters. At first when they have to spend some time apart, it’s good for both of them. Raffa gains a bit more confidence and doesn’t rely on Garith to do all the physical actions, and Garith is able to be a shining apothecary assistant when he isn’t constantly compared to Raffa’s unusual talent.

Speaking of Raffa’s apothecary work, I’d like to mention a spoiler, and will try to keep it to this paragraph. Although it’s never outright called that, Raffa’s ability with the plants and herbs seems to be a form of synesthesia. How I miss the ownvoice reviews at Disability in Kidlit, because I would love to have a review to refer to on this right now!

One of the major content warnings of this series is animal abuse. While this is clearly called out as wrong within the story and one of the major themes is environmentalism, it still could be too much for sensitive readers or animal lovers. Others include econonomic inequities, accidental deafness, harsh parenting including overly strict rules, and possibly others that I’ve forgotten.

Park is one of the masters of the middle grade historical novel, and adapts remarkably well to a different genre. I hurried to reread this novel and write this review so that I could find out what happens in the next book. A fantasy action adventure story like this is especially welcome since we don’t see as many POC magical boys. Recommended.