Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy

This is the second book in the Wildwood trilogy. I've already read and reviewed the first book here if you'd like to know a little more about it.

This book has Prue McKeel heading back into the Impassable Wilderness. She finds herself being hunted by assassins sent by an unknown enemy and heads back into the wood to figure things out. She teams up with her friend Curtis again to start on a journey to bring unity back to the wood.

The side story in this one is all about an orphanage that uses the children as labour in a machine parts shop. The owner of this orphanage is obsessed with the Impassable Wilderness and he dreams to make it in and exploit it for his own gain. That's all that's on his mind, nothing else matters to him. I won't say any more but this does tie into the main story.

These books are just great. They are detailed and intricate but without weighing you down with so many details. The wood and it's creatures really come alive and you feel like you're going on the journey too. At one point, Prue came back to the world as we know it outside of the forest and honestly, I was in a hurry for her to go back. The author has created such a cool place that I want to know everything about it!

This is a young teen type of book because the main characters are quite young but the thing is that it doesn't feel like it. It's got a lot of awesomeness going on that reads like more of an young adult type of fantasy. It's very much a series that makes me think of the Chronicles of Narnia, and in no way is that a bad thing. It's a world where these kids are going to change everything for the better and I love it.

My only complaint was that the first book had a mission and it was resolved by the end of the book. I assumed this book would do the same thing and when things weren't explained/solved by the end of this book I was a little annoyed at it being a sort of cliff hanger. Cliff hangers drive me nuts! It's okay though, I've got the last book already on my shelf and I'm reading it next. This doesn't take away from my love of this book.

Recommendation: If you haven't heard of this series, or if you've not read the first one but you think maybe you'd like to find out more about Wildwood, start with the first book. If you've read the first but weren't sure about continuing, please just give this a try. This is for the fantasy world lovers who want to escape to a place where animals can talk and the woods are alive.