To Barclay’s horror, he faces a fate far worse than being eaten: he unwittingly bonds with a Beast and is run out of town by an angry mob. But then Barclay accidentally breaks his town’s most sacred rule: never ever EVER stray into the Woods, for within the Woods lurk vicious magical Beasts. Thankfully, as an apprentice to the town’s mushroom farmer, Barclay need only work hard and follow the rules to one day become the head mushroom farmer himself. The last thing Barclay Thorne ever wanted was an adventure. (Mar.A boy who accidentally bonds with a magical Beast must set off on an adventure in the mysterious Woods in this “wholesome, delightful” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), and cheeky middle grade fantasy debut-perfect for fans of Nevermoor and How to Train Your Dragon. Agent: Whitney Ross, Irene Goodman Literary. A deeply immersive and auspicious series starter. Interweaving whimsicality with harsh realities, Foody’s ( Queen of Volts) middle grade debut introduces a richly realized fantasy world, populated by monsters both magnificently unknowable and all too human.
Barclay’s growing identification with his Beast is complicated by years of hatred, mirroring his relationship to the larger world of Lore Keepers, and the supporting cast likewise have their own nuanced characterizations and motivations.
The plot carefully builds in complexity, driven equally by well integrated, inventive worldbuilding and evolving character dynamics. There, a Lore Keeper promises to teach Barclay to break his bond, if he places first in a contest of skill and knowledge for aspiring apprentice Lore Keepers. Determined to remove the bond, Barclay journeys to a Lore Keeper town in the Woods with brown-skinned Viola, a young woman bonded to a dragon-like Beast. When Barclay inadvertently bonds with a rare and powerful Beast, he’s horrified-and worse, exiled from Dullshire. Orphaned at four when the Legendary Beast Gravaldor destroyed his village, pale-skinned Barclay Thorne, 11, hates the Beasts that haunt the Woods beyond Dullshire, as well as the Lore Keepers who bond with them.
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