Name: Between the Water and the Woods
ISBN: 9780823440207

Simone Snaith

This illustrated fantasy filled with beauty and power sweeps readers into a world where forests are hungry, knights fight with whips, the king is dying, and a peasant girl's magic will decide the future of the realm.

Between the Water and the Woods

Annalee Harris

Between the Water and the Woods is a whimsical story about a young girl, Emeline, and the journey she must undertake to tell the King that darkness dwells in the woods of her small village, and to ask him for protection. Along the way, Emeline realizes she, herself, has magic abilities that could pose a threat to her journey--and she meets the hardened Reese, who she inevitably is charmed by. But with the kingdom split between magic believers and non-believers, will Emeline and her family be able to convince the sickly king to help? Or is her beloved village doomed?



With simplistic language and relatively flat characters, this novel feels severely misplaced as a young adult fantasy novel; it reads more like a juvenile novel, which isn't altogether bad, but definitely disappointing. From the excerpt on the back, I was expecting something with more intrigue, action, and depth; unfortunately, Between the Water and the Woods does not deliver on that. The artwork is absolutely beautiful and was, in my opinion, the most interesting part; I found myself quickly reading through the passages just to get a glimpse of Sara Kipin's art. The worst part, in my opinion, was that Emeline's mysterious magic powers are basically useless--just like her self-conscious ramblings and her constant mentioning of her bodice.



The characters felt very one-dimensional and there was no notable character development that felt realistic. (view spoiler)[Was it a shock that Reese was actually embittered over the Bird clan because he himself was a bullied peasant once, or that he actually had a heart of gold and softened towards Emeline and her brother? (hide spoiler)] Not really, and I didn't even find myself caring that much. I enjoyed this novel enough--the light whimsy had its charms--I really wish it could've had more. More development, more backstory, more middle-of-the-night-conversations (you know the kind). The potential was absolutely there, but Snaith needed someone to let her know that this type of novel was meant to have a heaviness, something that made it raw. Not all fantasy novels need to be flowers and meadows.

Between the Water and the Woods

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