Spell Hunter opens a great new series by a Canadian author. The plot is fast moving, with a very unique approach to faeries, and the main character, Knife, is brave and feisty and easy to cheer for. It's a great pick for both teens and advanced middle graders.

Just finished this book. And enjoyed it immensely. It took awhile to keep track of the individual Faeries names but then I was hooked and had to figure out what great thing this Faery named Knife would take on. Now I am anxious for lots to discover this book.

I've been lucky with fantasy novels lately, first with The Demon's Lexicon (review to come) and now with Spell Hunter by RJ Anderson. The Demon's Lexicon is the darker of the two, with Spell Hunter veering onto the fairytale-ish of sides. But, both are fully satisfying novels, with wonderful worldbuilding and strong lead characters .

In Spell Hunter, we are introduced to a young faerie, named Byrony, who is attempting to climb out the window of the Oak where a faery kingdom resides. This action is met with fright with her foster mother, Wink. Outside the Oak, is a world which few of the faeries have ever seen-dangers wait outside including crows (the faeries are only seven-inches tall) and most terrifying of all, the "monsters" or rather, the humans. However, just as Byrony glimpses one of the monsters, she is pulled back to the safety of the Oak.

But every since that day, Byrony can't help but wonder why humans are considered dangerous. So, when Byrony is given the job of Hunter, one of the only jobs that requires a faery to go outside, she takes the name Knife, becoming a fierce, knife-wielding, crow killing warrior, seizing the chance to explore and find an answer to her questions. And those answers may be needed more than ever before. Years ago, the faeries lost their magic, and along with it, their desire and understanding of friendship and creativity. And, now, the already tiny faery population is dwindling as faeries succumb to insanity.

I picked up this book up because it was blurbed by one of my favourite authors (Megan Whalen Turner) and was surprised by how much I liked it. RJ Anderson did a wonderful job of creating the faery realm. The faeries almost behave like a beehive, with faeries performing certain jobs at the request of their queen (without whom, they would be dead). The lack of conversation and constant bargaining between the faeries really shown the isolation that Knife feels.

Besides the fact that Knife is a fierce, independent (but not overly so) character, the other characters are fleshed out well, my favourite by far being Paul. Another blogger (I can't remember who exactly, sorry) commented about the uniqueness of having a cripple for the main character and how well-carried off Anderson's portrayal of Paul was-you never feel sorry for him. I thought that was a really good point. I mean, honestly, when was the last time you read a book where a primary character is a cripple? Or even the love interest? I can't remember a single one with the exception of maybe The Secret Garden and the Fearless series (Ed as one of Gaia's manymany paramours...haha).


Judging by the cover, I think the novel may be marked to MG, but with all that RJ Anderson covers in the novel, I think older readers will enjoy it too (I did).

Reason for Reading: I have a fondness for faeries in fantasy as long as they are not cutesy and when I saw the title of this book that combined the words "rebels" and "hunter" with "faery" I was very intrigued. Also the picture of the very pretty yet so serious faery on the cover also helped to pique my interest.

Comments: In the Oakenwyld lives a faery realm which is slowly dying out. They lost their magic hundreds of years ago and no one remembers exactly how. A sickness is slowly killing them all off one by one. They do not reproduce but only replace themselves with a baby upon death. These faeries are selfish, friendless and joyless. They also have no culture, no art, no seekers of knowledge and as far as they are concerned it has never been any different. But Knife does not accept this. Why are the faeries so terrified of humans? When she accidentally meets one and nothing bad happens she, who has always been somewhat of a rulebreaker, decides to find out the truth about humans and faeries and perhaps save the Oakenwyld faeries from extinction.

Honestly, I'm amazed at how much I enjoyed this book. I have to admit I was expecting a more juvenile book than what this actually proved to be. Not that I don't enjoy a good juvenile book by any means. Perhaps it was the cover or the publisher's age range of ten plus but I was pleasantly surprised to find a very in depth, layered story that will be enjoyed by those aged ten on up through young adults. The two major characters, Knife and Paul, are sixteen years old and there is a romantic element that is pure and self-sacrificing. The faery character, Knife, is a very headstrong and a forceful, determined female to be admired and yet very feminine when her heart strings are pulled both in friendship and love. The faery world is very intriguing and the mythos created very full and believable yet with plenty of room for expansion should a sequel be in the works.

I couldn't put this one down and read it within a 24 hour period. The book has a complete satisfying ending for the central main characters, yet for the world in which they live there are threads left hanging which makes me wonder if a sequel is in the works which may be set in the same world but focus on different protagonists. That would certainly make for an interesting series. Anyway only time will tell! This is the author's first novel, though she has written picture books previously, and I'll be waiting to see what she has for us next. Recommended!

ETA - My oops, the author has not previously written picture books. The is her first ever published book!

faery rebels was not at all a romance at ALL. i didnt like it.