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 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.