"Good gravy" but this was bad. It features a girl who "respond[s] well to pamphlets" and whose mother has taken her from the US to a corner of Switzerland for an international conference on animal communication. Finding it a touch boring as it doesn't include the animals to talk to (…) the girl accepts a command from an utter stranger to pack herself off on some local trains to go somewhere and, well, frankly you won't care. The girl is as plummy as all get-up, and the whole scenario just reeks of the unlikely and implausible and the unwanted. To say it wasn't my thing is evident – and now, apparently, known to the whole animal world.

Like a fairytale that dives deeper, a candy coated whisper that has something important to echo to you, or a beautiful tale both lyrical and heartfelt. All of this describes this lovely book.
There’s an air of mystery, a wholesome heart, and appeal to almost every reader, Something that dances along that line of what is real and what is imagined. All while firmly keeping its feet in reality it glimmers with touches of magic that’s not too outlandish or ungrounded.

I tried. I really, really tried, but I found it impossible to get into this book. I feel bad saying it because the writing is beautiful in spots, and it's certainly unique. My main issue is that the protagonist doesn't speak or act like any 11-year-old I've ever met. Whippoorwill is precocious beyond belief, and instead of being charmed by her, I found her unbearably grating. She claims to attend a "progressive school in Manhattan," which I envisioned was a Waldorf school. It had to be a Waldorf school.

My second issue is the plot. An 11-year-old girl receives a mysterious invitation to visit the Swiss Alps alone. She meets, and befriends, various people and animals. There's a lot of nature worship. But I don't know how I feel about a kid roaming around a foreign country all by herself, even if I constantly had to remind myself that Whippoorwill was only 11. It was just... odd.

This one wasn't really for me if I'm being honest. I will still leave 3 stars because I'm not sure I was the target audience

This story is listed in the categories of Children’s Fiction, Literary Fiction, as well as Middle Grade, which seems to me to be accurate since it is a story that children will enjoy, but adults will, as well since Whippoorwill Willingly seems to be wise beyond her years.

This is a story of a journey that is filled with charm, but also moments that share how Whippoorwill Willingly navigates the world. As this begins, she meets a stranger who entices her to board a curious train which takes her to an enchanted lake with the Swiss Alps in the distance. It’s there that she begins to view the world in a way that she had never seen before.

It’s rare that I find a book that can be enjoyed by all, with a bit of mystery, something between a mixture of fantasy and reality, while seeming to remain in reality, and still having a sprinkling of magical realism.


Pub Date: 02 Nov 2024


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Listen Well