The Oddmire Book One by William Ritter (Book Review)
The Oddmire Book One by William Ritter
Changling
Author of the New York Times Bestselling, Jackaby series
Magic is fading from the Wild Wood. To renew it, goblins must perform an ancient ritual involving the rarest of their kind—a newborn changeling. But when the night arrives to trade a human baby for a goblin one, something goes terribly wrong. After laying the changeling in a human infant’s crib, the goblin Kull is briefly distracted. By the time he turns back, the changeling has already perfectly mimicked the human child. Too perfectly: Kull cannot tell them apart, so he leaves both babies behind.
Tinn and Cole are raised as human twins, neither knowing what secrets may be buried deep inside one of them. When they are thirteen years old, a mysterious message arrives, calling the brothers to be heroes and protectors of magic. The boys must leave their sleepy town and risk their lives in the Wild Wood, journeying through the Deep Dark to reach the goblin horde and uncover who they truly are.
In this first book in a new fantasy-adventure series, New York Times bestselling author William Ritter takes readers on a journey of monsters, magic, and discovery.
Hardcover, 272 Pages
Tags: Goblins | Magic | Monsters
Publishing imprint: Algonquin Young Readers
Publication date: July 16th, 2019
Book Review
WILLIAM RITTER
Changeling
The Oddmire #1
For magic to remain in the Wild Wood, one rogue goblin believes he must re-establish the goblin tradition of leaving a baby changeling in the place of a human infant. However, something goes wrong when the goblin tries to make the switch, leaving him no choice but to abandon his plan and leave both human and changeling behind in the human world. Thus, one infant becomes two, identical twins that neither goblin nor human can tell apart.
Tinn and Cole don’t know which one of them is the real boy and which one of them is the changeling, and though they’ve grown up hearing the stories about goblins and witches and the magical creatures that live in the forest, they’ve never actually seen any of it for themselves. Until the day the goblin returns and leaves them a note that gives them no choice but to enter the Wild Woods and face the truth about who they are.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well-written, action-oriented, and filled with the kind of fantasy creatures I have long since loved to read about in stories. Written for primarily for middle grade readers, Changeling, The Oddmire Book One by William Ritter, is a great fantasy story with powerful themes of family, friendship, determination, courage, bravery, fear, redemption, and forgiveness.
Recommended for middle grade readers and anyone who loves stories with goblins, witches, magical creatures, dangerous woods, and the strength of a mother’s love, Changeling is a great start to what it is sure to be a fun and entertaining new fantasy series.
Category: Middle Grade | Genre(s): Fantasy
What Others Are Saying
“Funny, exciting, and ultimately epic. Wow. I can’t wait for the next one.”—Adam Gidwitz, author of the New York Times bestseller A Tale Dark and Grimm
“Set in a magical world filled with incredible creatures from folklore, this fast-paced fantasy will keep readers turning the pages as they follow the twins through the dark and mysterious woods. Unique characters with complex personalities will give readers insight into the feelings and actions of not only Tinn and Cole and their mother, but the creatures—both good and evil—they encounter on their journey. A captivating series opener.”—Booklist, starred review
“A delightful series opener.”—Kirkus Reviews
“[A] charming middle grade fantasy…Ritter (the Jackaby series) crafts a well-paced adventure filled with whimsy and peril, in which the bonds of family and love prove stronger than any spell or curse. With memorable characters—especially the irrepressible protagonists, who make a delightful team—and an atmospheric setting, this is a strong series opener.”—Publishers Weekly
BOOK EXCERPT
The Oddmire Book 1: Changeling
Age range: 8 – 12 | Grade range: 3 – 7
PROLOGUE
A VERY LONG TIME AGO, HUMANS AND FAIRIES and elves and dolphins and all of the other intelligent beings of the world got sick of one another—which was understandable, as intelligent beings were all pretty much rubbish in those days. After much arguing, they decided to split up the world and build a sort of magical wall between the two halves. On the human side of the barrier, life would be governed by logic and reason and the laws of nature. It would be an honest world of soil and struggle. The other side would be ruled by forces more ancient than any earthly science, a world of magic and madness and raw potential. Humans called their side the Earth, and magical beings called their side the Annwyn (all except for the gnomes, who called it Pippin-Gilliewhipple—which is one of many reasons that, to this day, nobody from either side much cares for gnomes).
For many centuries, the wall stood—a sort of veil between two worlds, invisible but everywhere. Neither side could see or touch the other, and in time many creatures forgot there was another world at all. This remained the state of things until rogue groups brought their simmering strife to an unruly boil and a new war broke out. As it turned out, intelligent beings were still fairly rubbish if not properly supervised. The resulting battle blasted a great, gaping hole right through the invisible barrier.
When the dust had settled, some felt the hole in the wall should be patched back up, and others felt the barrier should come down entirely. In all the hubbub, nobody noticed as the thing that had been inside the wall—the thing that may have been the very soul of the wall—escaped. Nobody was watching as the thing that had spent countless centuries listening at the cracks and growing hungrier and hungrier slipped past the rubble and across the bloody battlefield. Nobody saw it slide quietly into the forest.
The Thing clutched at shadows as it moved between the trees, drawing the darkness around itself like a riding cloak. It had never known sunlight, or birdsong, or honey-sweet breezes, or even the sound of its own name. If the Thing even had ever had a name, it had never had anyone to speak it.
The Thing whipped past mossy boulders, through towering trees, and over the muggy, murky Oddmire. When it reached the very heart of the Wild Wood, it finally slowed and came to rest. The trees grew more densely there, and the air was still. Even the sound of the birds died away. The shadows here were thick and heavy, and the Thing gathered them up, greedily.
The Thing knew shadows. In that sunless, starless place between worlds, there had been shadows so absolute they had no form. The Thing’s whole world had been a shadow—its whole life had been one great shadow, and within it, the Thing had felt impossibly small. But the shadows in this new place were different. They would do as it bid them. They were powerful, those shadows of stones and boulders and tall pine trees, and the pieces torn from them felt comfortable as they knit together across the Thing’s back. The Thing felt strong. Beneath its swelling cloak of darkness, the Thing began to take on new shapes. Bigger shapes. Terrible shapes. Still, there was one shadow that caught the Thing like a thorn: its own. The creature’s meager slip of a shadow followed it, clung to it, taunted it with its own true, trifling form.
The creature plunged its talons into the forest floor, and for a time, the only sound was the scratching of unseen claws digging into the soil. When the hole was deep enough, the Thing turned its talons in on itself. It tore and it ripped until finally, reverently, it lowered its own severed shadow into the cold earth and buried the humble scrap beneath the dirt. All around it, pools of darkness blossomed as if the entire forest floor were a fresh, clean napkin laid over a seeping ink stain.
The darkness grew.
The Thing drew itself up to its full height, and then it drew itself up a little higher, and higher still. Countless stolen shadows rippled along its cloak like waves of grain shimmering in a breeze. The Thing would be whatever it pleased now. It was never going back.
The darkness spreading across the forest floor solidified into angry coils and knots as it grew. Wicked thorns burst from its surface. For just a moment, there was silence and the forest was still. And then the darkness began to creep.
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About WILLIAM RITTER
William Ritter is an Oregon author and educator. He is the proud father of the two bravest boys in the Wild Wood, and husband to the indomitable Queen of the Deep Dark.The Oddmireis Ritter’s first series for middle-grade readers. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling, award-winning Jackaby series for young adult readers.