WIND

Eleven-year-old Katie daydreams at school and hears a voice speaking in her head. She to things, even the branches of the oak tree that seems to wave at her. She is as bored with Mr. Pinski’s lecture as are her classmates. Then without warning, the earthquake changes everything, with Katie falling straight into a crack. Awakening from the pain and into the darkness, she quickly understands that she is not in Dad’s workshop. She is in another world, and the unnerving encounter with the arrogant Za, a boy struggling to find the coordinates with the help of his orb.

Everything turns into chaos from the moment they meet. But they set out on an adventure that will test Katie’s understanding of who she is, her tolerance, and her openness to evolving through strange situations and unfamiliar landscapes. There is so much danger in this adventure, including a wide selection of strange characters, a shape-shifting tree spirit, a water god, and strange elements of nature. Katie will have to survive, be resilient, and be creative if she will survive enough to find her way back home.

WIND by Ellen Dee Davidson is a swashbuckling ride that is filled with adventure, humor, and characters that fans of young adult fantasy will adore. From the very beginning of the narrative, the reader senses something unusual about the heroine; she daydreams about a voice in her head and even seems to have some form of communication with the trees. Her world as a student is brilliantly depicted and the relationships with her peers —Julian, Maggie, and Leila —as well as her parents, are masterfully written. While the story takes readers on an adventure with the protagonist and a strange and overbearing young boy, it is hardly lacking in the humor that lifts the spirits and makes the characters more lovable. The journey from hostility to collaboration that Za and Katie take is filled with lessons on tolerance, perseverance, teamwork, personal development, and acceptance of differences.

Ellen Dee Davidson has a unique gift for writing engaging dialogues and creating convincing scenes in a fantasy tale. The conflict is deftly written and as the story moves forward, the reader is keen on finding out what happens at the end. The crispiness of the writing, the unforgettable characters, and the cunning plot will have readers racing through the pages of this book. Ellen Dee Davidson melds the art of descriptive prose with the quirkiness in character and exciting dialogues to touch the hearts of readers in unexpected ways. It is, simply put, a lovely adventure with a delightful end.