My YA book was Under Wildwood by
Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis. It is told through 3 main perspectives, and some
smaller one chapter perspectives as well. It is the second book in a trilogy
about a small portion of Portland Oregon that is surrounded by a menacing and
mysterious wilderness that holds creatures unknown to humankind. The book
follows the sisters of one of the main characters who disappeared into the
woods. This revolves around the main themes of courage, bravery, and most of
all adventure
The main character Curtis is the main source
of adventure in the story. In the first book, he stays in the mysterious
wilderness, known as the impassable wilderness, and leaves his family behind so
he can join a bandit training camp. All of this adventure in the story brings a
sense of nostalgia whenever they are not jumping off of cliffs or flying on
eagles (yes that actually happens). If adrenaline is not pumping through
Curtis' blood, then he feels guilty for leaving his family and old life behind
so that he could pursue his dreams in the impassable wilderness. When pure
crosses curtis' storyline, she brings these surges of nostalgia that really
make him rethink the choices that he has made the past year. I believe that
Curtis' quest is to finish his bandit training, and put his family at ease.
The other main character Prue Mckeel after the first book, unlike
Curtis, returns back to her home. But with out the adventure and fun that she
had in Wildwood, her life is dry and boring. In class she stares out of the window
and doesn’t pay attention, which poorly affects her grades. Her heart is in
Wildwood but her body is stuck in Portland. Prue’s mind is stuck between
reality, and the shadowed story that most people know. Wildwood is the reality
that animals and plants can speak and communicate and that everything lives in
harmony compared to the outside world. I believe Prue’s quest in this book is
to get her head out of limbo and decide what life she is going to live; one
with her family or one with wildwood.
The other main storyline is of Curtis’ sisters who get placed in and
orphanage as their parents go across the world to try to find Curtis. The
orphanage owner’s obsession with the Impassable Wilderness, and getting into
it, is what leads them to being there as well. As they explore these woods they find many new creatures and
things that remained unknown to the rest of the world. Their quest is to
restore their family once again.
Overall, these characters make the story of Under Wildwood.
Great job Katie! I loved the way you portrayed themes in this book. Although I have never read this book I thought it was really interesting how you explained the themes in this book by the characters personalities. This shows how much you paid attention to the characters throughout the course of reading this book. I sounds really interesting and I am interested in reading this book because of how in-depth your response was.
ReplyDeleteIt a lovely piece Katie. I would use language that is a bit more sophisticated next time. You could elaborate more on these topics, you are sort of just state them. But overall, nice piece and I look forward to reading the book!
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