N. D. Wilson

Twelve-year-old Henry York, finally reunited with his family, works with them and the Chestnut King, the long-deposed and mythic leader of the faeren people, to destroy Nimiane and her forces of evil.

The Chestnut King

Christine

11/07/22: hi does someone wanna tell me why it took me until TODAY at SEVEN in the MORNING to realize that Endor is quite literally just from 1 Samuel 28. Literally What

10/27/22: I did the thing where I have a million and two thoughts while I read a book, finish it, and promptly forget ALL of them. the only thought that stuck with me is that literally everyone and their mothers have grey eyes waddaheck. ZEKE has grey eyes???? TIL I guess. apparently it's my SIXTH TIME reading this ???? WHAT lmao 
you know what's really funny? the note i left here in 2019 - i was right, all along, and i didn't even know it because i was a fool who didn't understand half of the stuff i was reading. good JOB!!! 
anyway yeahhh i had thoughts. where are they?? i just ate three cookies in a row which was an AWFUL idea for multiple reasons. uhhhh oh right! dandelions are cool. I think it's funny that Coradin shows up to replace Darius as Nimiane's Big Bad except he actually deserves pity. suddenly very very curious about Amram and Anastasia's stories. there are so many GORGEOUS quotes in this book i like Wilson's writing style quite a lot in these. and again there is no SHOT henry is 12-13. Insanity, through and through. Beo and the raggant <33 FAT FRANK AND THE FAEREN. the scene where Monmouth calls Frank old is hysterical. baseball baseball baseball fun fact i am horrific at baseball (and most other sports) i discovered this when i was 9 and i have never tried to properly play it ever again. how do you HIT THE BALL. < girl who isn't sporty in the slightest horses are the extent of my "sports." Monmouth and his aspens are super cool. I apparently wrote with pencil in my book bc I found a couple places where I'd left random comments like bro I thought I left that habit back with my 11 year old self. this also definitely doesn't deserve 5 stars but i am not touching it, yet again, same with Dandelion Fire. i should REALLY be doing homework right now!!! it is funny bc I've historically read these books in Jan-March of each year but this year I waited until October. i think it's time to go reread Mapmakers again actually yeah I've got a few series I've just accidentally made into a yearly reread thing. sigh MG moment. The whole slave galley plot line was just a massive oof idk as i get older and continually reread middle grade books i read as a kid i'm always caught off guard by certain things that happen in them that are just absolutely jarring if you think too hard about them. Love middle grade. I have felt like i'm going to black out all day NICE. awesome. 

"May your life be a truth, and your death a glory."

later: editing this to be serious for like two seconds. Spoilering because uhhh what am I even going on about tbh lmao I am EXHAUSTED. Not quite a spoiler for 100C, but spoils Ashtown and Outlaws of Time. (view spoiler)[I love Wilson because of his treatment of the concept of family, especially in middle-grade where parents and family are often just forgotten about, gotten rid of for plot convenience. I'm not saying all of MG is like that - there's a lot of MG where parents are present and written into the story in a way that doesn't just put them to a side - it just was kind of a trend, because the focus is on the 12 and 13 year olds, and it was just easier that way, or to give them some backstory. And that's not bad in the slightest, either, because it WORKS sometimes. But 100C and Ashtown and Outlaws and the others - family is so important, whether blood or found, or both. Like ok sure 100C has a heavy focus on blood strength, family lineage through Mordecai and Amram and all the way back to the Old Kings (vague fantasy phrases are awesome /s) but that's not what I mean. I mean that is is awesome that Frank and Dotty and Hyacinth and Mordecai and Caleb are *there* and *present* and actively involved, actively being family. Frank and Dotty trying to make up for Ursula and Phil's overbearing, negligent, unavailable parenting, even if awkwardly in the case of Frank. Hyacinth and Mordecai, though long separated - they are Henry's parents, through and through despite just having gotten him back. Because yes, it is Henry's story, and it is his focus, but also - family. Not just parents. I mean it all. The way I find it funny that Richard and Zeke (literally, in the end of CK, which killed me as a kid it was completely unprecedented to me and AMAZING), and even Monmouth end up practically being grafted into the Westmore family. Henrietta and Penny and Anastasia as cousins, Una and Isa and James, Henry's newly found siblings. It is all family, blood or not. Fat Frank. yes I know the difference between friendship and family and both are super important but I am trying to get at something here and I've lost my train of logic LOL. 
And I know this is CK but Ashtown - even though Lawrence is dead, and Katie is long asleep, Cy's siblings are so, so important (and yeah I know Tigs is like a second MC anyway but still) and Rupert, and maybe I'm reaching, but the Polygoners in general. 
and Outlaws is much more found family and it is fun. The Lost Boys and Glory and Millie. I think I need to shut up actually what in heck am I on about. It's 8:45 and I am tempted to just go to bed. I have an ungodly amount of assignments left btw lol (hide spoiler)]


2/15/21 - apparently I actually read this once a year which is mildly impressive given that I was sort of joking about this being my yearly reread
(Also sometimes I just see the things I wrote on goodreads when I was 12 and die inwardly WHO let me on the INTERNET)

p.370 (paperback):
"Do not forget who you are."
"Who am I?" Henry asked. "I'm a boy with nightmares, a burned hand, a witch's blood in my face, and her voice in my head."
Henry's grandmother tipped up his chin and stared into his eyes. "You are Henry York Maccabee, seventh son of Mordecai Westmore, seventh son of Amram Iothric, in the line long faithful to the Old King, bone from my own bone, blood from my own blood. You are the pride of your father and the glory of your mother, a fire green and gold and a curse to darkness." She dropped her hand. "May you never need to be told again."

--
2017 - I love this book. It's such a perfect ending to the Cupboards trilogy! If I had time I would srsly write a rave review...but I don't, so I'll just say it is def. on my favorite books list.
[Thanks, Colson, for recommending Wilson]
~ ~ ~ 
2.10.19 - was having an absolute brainstorm, talking to a friend - and I'm still laughing at the ideas I came up with. My greatest one yet is the idea that the cupboards are each connected to a different parallel universe in the great big -coughs- MULTIVERSE considering all the different timelines they seem to be in, according to the front cupboard map. 
(that was a reference -eyes a certain person- #42+)
Somehow they're scaring me with one word - "lost" "damage" "sealed" "vary delay" "varies" "shifting"
what

also goOd joB thE enDinG shIps

--
henry: can i die
zeke & henrietta:
henry: wouldn't it be a lot better if i were dead tho 
henrietta:
henrietta: idiot
zeke: what why nO

1/26/20: I don't remember what I was on when I wrote the above but I MEAN IT PRETTY ACCURATELY SUMS UP THE ENTIRE BOOK 
I friking love this book all of a sudden. Who knows why.
(Oh, and the amusing part is, it really is technically the multiverse.)

The Chestnut King

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