Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
Nevermoor, book 1
by Jessica Townsend
Morrigan Crow is cursed. On the day that should bring her death, a man named Jupiter saves her from her fate by nominating her to compete in a series of trials for a place in the Wundrous Society.
A few people have recommended this to me, and everyone who talks about it speaks quite positively about it. And as I’m exploring middle-grade fantasy for the first time, I can certainly see why. This story has all the whimsy and excitement I’ve quickly come to expect from the genre, with wonderful friendships and a bit of growing up. I loved the magic and mystery of learning about the world and what makes Morrigan so special along with her.
Morrigan was a great main character. A seemingly ordinary, if entirely alienated young girl, who doesn’t believe there is anything special at all about herself eventually realizing how special she is. I liked that not everything went well for her and the fact that she passed her trials usually boiled down to luck and technicality. I much prefer when the hero of a story actually overcomes things rather than having an innate ability that is unlocked and effortlessly saved them, and, while Morrigan did have a talent she didn’t know about, it didn’t just come out of the woodwork and make everything easy for her.
The friendship with Hawthorne is so sweet, as is Morrigan’s treatment of Cadence, irritating as that girl was to begin with. I also loved both the grandma and Fenestra. The variety of trials and the ever looming presence of the Wundersmith as we learn more and more about him. Overall this book was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series soon.
<3D
LessthanThreeD 