The Crosswood

Fourteen-year-old Blue Jasper takes his younger siblings, twins Indigo and Violet, out for a hike to give their mother a break. One moment the twins are scampering in the trees right ahead of him, and the next moment they are gone. As Blue frantically searches for them, a strange woman appears in the forest claiming to be the Faerie Queen Olea of Nearwood and the twins’ real mother. Now because of a magical pact, Blue's mother's life will be in danger if he can't find the twins before the next sunset. Blue must find his way into the magical forest known as the Crosswood and through the dangerous Faerie lands beyond it. Will he be able to find the twins in time? And will they be able to find their way out again?

This is the first book in the Faerie Woods series. Look for The Wherewood available Fall 2021

The Crosswood is a part of the Orca Currents line of books and written at a 2.9 grade level. Orca Currents are short, high-interest novels with contemporary themes written specifically for middle-school students reading below grade level. Reading levels from grade 2.0 to 5.0. Interest level ages 10–14.
Orca's hi-lo is printed in an ultra-readable, highly-accessible format with dyslexia-friendly, more readable font, increased spacing between words and lines and cream-colored paper to minimize contrast so readers can focus more easily.




Gabrielle Prendergast is an award-winning writer, teacher and designer. She has written many books for young people including the BC Book Prize and Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize winner, Zero Repeat Forever (Simon & Schuster) and the Westchester Award winner, Audacious (Orca). She lives in Vancouver with her family.