Shelf Awareness--Edgewood

YA Review: Edgewood

Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli (Wednesday Books, 400p., ages 12-up, 9781250821522)

Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli (Iskari series) is an enjoyably romantic, otherworldly saga that features a young woman hellbent on escaping her superstitious hometown--that is, until she must win back her aging grandfather from a wicked king and save an entire kingdom.

Nineteen-year-old Emeline Lark is a "folk singer with a pop vibe" who wants nothing more than to chase her dream of "making a living with just her voice." She's getting close, too, with reps from prestigious Daybreak Records on the verge of offering her a contract. But ever since Emeline fled Edgewood, the backwards town where she grew up, it feels as if the woods are calling her, begging her to "sing us a true song." Now her grandfather, who's suffering from dementia, has gone missing and his neighbors say he's been tithed to some "fairy tale" Wood King. Emeline refuses to believe this madness but, even though the Daybreak reps won't wait, she hurries back to search for her beloved Pa. When she ventures into the woods, she meets mysterious Hawthorne and his huge, impossible mare--and discovers that magic is real. Emeline will have to sing like never before in order to save Pa and break the curse that's poisoning the forest.

A finely tuned fantasy, Edgewood is an enchanting mix of magical quest, mystery and romance. Ciccarelli's headstrong Emeline is as much modern-day woman as she is timeless hero, and Hawthorne is as sensitive and broody a love interest as readers could hope for. Add in the delightfully lyrical prose and this neo-fairy tale hits all the marks. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Discover: Rising star Emeline Lark must sing for her life as she infiltrates an enchanted wood to win back her beloved grandfather in this finely tuned modern fairy tale.