Wow! eBook
Into the Wild Magic
Author(s): Michelle Knudsen (Author)
- Publisher: Candlewick
- Publication Date: August 19, 2025
- Language: English
- Print length: 368 pages
- ISBN-10: 1536227692
- ISBN-13: 9781536227697
Book Description
Eleven-year-old Bevvy spends her time avoiding other kids, playing with her neighbor’s kittens, and escaping into her fantasy novels. When new girl Cat arrives at school, Bevvy thinks she may finally have found a friend, until Cat provokes Bevvy’s worst tormentor and leaves her alone to deal with the consequences. Later, on Bevvy’s doorstep, Cat’s apology is cut short when a car with dark windows rolls up. Bolting into a nearby wood with Bevvy in tow, Cat proceeds to open a hole,
in the air, just in time. Bevvy knows magic when she sees it, the kind in books, but the world the girls escape to—teeming with unicorns, sorcerers, and dragons—is shockingly, exhilaratingly real. It’s a world at war. Those who wield wild magic, in tune with nature, are pitted against dark sorcerers. As Bevvy’s role in the struggle grows, and her confidence with it, can she trust Cat to support her? Can she trust herself not to run? An acclaimed author builds a breathtaking and emotionally resonant world where magic and monsters are real and friendship and risk go hand in hand.Editorial Reviews
Review
—Kirkus Reviews
In this spirited magical adventure, Knudsen (
Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten) puts a new spin on fantasy elements such as unicorns as well as contemporary ideas around transportation (some characters travel via giant moth). Bevvy is a compassionate, compelling lead across a surprise-packed plot that doesn’t shy away from such heady topics as the ethical use of magic.—Publishers Weekly
Knudsen successfully weaves elements of classic fantasy—portal travel, hidden royalty, a heroine who must grow into her unexpected destiny—with themes of friendship and bravery and an emphasis on moral complexity and emotional intelligence. Her world-building is immersive, and the story balances action and magic with deeply felt emotional stakes
—The Horn Book
—Caroline Carlson, author of Wicked Marigold
If you love nature, real and invented; sentient, benevolent trees; gangs of savage unicorns; and—above all—the real magic of hard-graft friendship, you are going to love
Into the Wild Magic. And it’s going to love you back.—Chris Lynch, author of the Printz Honor Book Freewill
An epic tale about saving a magic world and the even more epic achievement of making a friend. I loved it!
—Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times best-selling author
