I love reading young literature. It’s just a fun and different way to escape through books. Stories Untold Press approached me about reading The Crowns of Croswald a while ago, and I just fell in love with the series. Am I about 15-20 years too old for it? Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get The Words of the Wandering as soon as I saw it was published. It’s the third book in the series, and I cannot wait to see what D.E. Night creates next.

The Story

This whimsical fairytale pushes the boundaries of what middle-grade fantasy can be and readers won’t stop turning pages in this coming-of-age story.

In the third book of the series, The Words of the Wandering, Ivy’s power grows, and so does the Dark Queen’s intent to destroy her. Traveling far and wide, and even into the past, Ivy strains to discover the powers that brought the Queen into power and what her own role might be. A whirlwind chase to a magical circus, an enemy turning over a new leaf, a protector that can’t be trusted. Can Ivy work with friends––new and old––to recover what was lost? The stakes have never been higher.

Curious and whimsical, both shy and brave, Ivy is a hero that connects with readers of all ages. For those who wished that Narnia, Harry Potter, and Alice in Wonderland could go on forever, Croswald opens a whole new world of magic. Recommended as a read-aloud for families and a first middle-grade fantasy read, The Crowns of Croswald is a four-part series that will carry readers to a whimsical world that they won’t want to leave.

My Thoughts

I was pleased with this book. There were parts that I just kind of read my way through because they weren’t all that exciting, but I think it set a lot of the ground work that was missing in the first two books.

Ivy and the Dark Queen have a bit of a Harry and Voldemort relationship. The Dark Queen wants her dead and/or wants to steal her power (I’m still not sure if Ivy would need to die in order for her to get it). Ivy is not certain of her origins, so it’s been mostly unclear as to the why of this relationship. I was pleased that D.E. Night used this book to figure that out and share the full story.

Now, how it is done is a SUPER cool concept. Basically, there is a special kind of ink that people can use when they record images and pictures. If you’re talented enough, you can “go in” to those images and speak with the people in them and explore the captured areas. How cool is that?!

I was also glad that Ivy and Fyn finally got a little bit of romance! Should you have a young reader interested in this series, rest assured: it is very clean. If I’ve done the math correctly, Ivy is 17 when she gets her first kiss. And that is ALL that happens. It’s a sweet little “young” love story.

Now, there is only one more book in the series after The Words of the Wandering, so I’m curious as to how this will all wrap up! I feel as though I have a lot of unanswered questions. Plus, we were left on a HUGE cliffhanger, so I just need that to resolve itself.

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