This was another delightful fantasy from Sarah Prineas. This one features a strong female heroine. Fer is a middle schooler being raised by her grandmother after her mother and father "had gone from this world." Fer always thought that this was a metaphor for dying. At least she thought so until she rescued a dog that turned into a boy and then followed him home through a pond into a strange, sick world where it was always winter. The Mor is ruling this land and wants to convince Fer to be her follower and ally. Fer gets sucked into her glamorie and at first is dazzled by her. But she soon comes to believe that the Lady is the cause of the sickness in the world. She is the one who killed her parents to usurp her mother's power as the true Lady of the land. It is somehow up to Fer to defeat the Lady and restore the land.I loved the wonderful creatures in this one. The boy Fer rescues is a Puck who is able to turn into a dog or a horse and who is bound to the Lady by oaths to serve her. The Lady is surrounded by other wonderful creatures who are losing their grip on their human forms and reverting to their wilding forms. Fer begins by healing some of them using the skills she was taught by her grandmother. This was a great story about a determined heroine who feels a responsibility for the land and a responsibility for the people who live in it. I thought it was excellent. I think this one will be well-received by my middle grade fantasy lovers and I can't wait to share it with them.
