REVIEW: The Feral Child by Che Golden

Her parents dead, Maddy is sick of living in Ireland, sick of Blarney and sick of her cousin Danny, one of the nastiest people you could meet this side of an Asbo. Mad as hell one evening, she crawls inside the grounds of the castle, the one place she has always been forbidden to go.

Once inside, she is chased by a strange feral boy, who she suspects is one of the faerie: cruel, fantastical people who live among humans and exchange local children for their own.

When the boy returns to steal her neighbour Stephen into his world, Maddy and her cousins set off on a terrifying journey into a magical wilderness, determined to bring him back home. To do so, they must face an evil as old as the earth itself…

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Dear The Feral Child: While reading you, I was, quite possibly, the most terrified I've ever been while reading a book. Seriously, this book is intended for the 9-12 age group!? 9...to 12?!! I had nightmares. Legit, real, there's a horrid monster at my window, NIGHTMARES. But The Feral Child was a fantastic book, a fantastic, action-packed, gem of a book.

I've grown quite intensely fond of Irish folklore, and this book fit perfectly into that new found obsession. The Feral Child follows Maddy, a newly orphaned child who has been shipped off from her beloved London, to live with her Grandparents in Ireland, where she grumbles incessantly about her displeasure of being uprooted. The brunt of teasing from her cousins, especially her cousin Danny, Maddy constantly ventures out on her own in search of things to quell her boredom. One particular dark, and dreary (of course it's dark and dreary!) evening, Maddy sneaks into the grounds of a local castle, one in which she's been, very clearly, forbidden from entering. From this point on, I wasn't able to read this book alone, at night...especially not at night!! *shudder*

Inside, Maddy is greeted by what appears to be a little boy, who claims that he only wants to play. As if that wasn't creepy enough, the boy turns out to not be a little boy at all, but a disgustingly disfigured faerie, who seems to be up to no good around town. The following night, in one the most disturbingly scary scenes I've EVER read, a local child, neighbour, and friend of Maddy's is kidnapped by the faerie, right in front of her eyes. What ensues is a rescue mission. With the help of her miserable cousins, Maddy gathers all of the knowledge she's gained from her suspiciously persistent Grandfather, and sets off to rescue her friend Stephen. Of course, Stephen hasn't just been taken to the local park, but an entirely different realm of existence: Tir na nOg.

The imagery, dialogue and folklore fact dropping in The Feral Child was mind-blowing, and fantastical. The tone was the exact right level of darkness, and foreboding, and I could not get enough of any of it. I'm still there, if I sit back and close my eyes, I'm still roaming a dreamland filled with dryads (tree faeries), selkies, unicorns and everything you've ever wanted to read about when you were just discovering the power of your imagination. Che Golden's writing was beautiful, and absolutely filled with magic. I completely loved that she even provided a glossary of terms at the conclusion of the book, it was endlessly helpful. If you're in the mood to go on an adventure beyond the realm of the one you reside in, read The Feral Child, and then sigh a million happy sighs once you turn the last page because, my GOD, there's a second book waiting for me/you to read!

 Recommended for fans of: Middle Grade Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Irish Folklore.

*DISCLAIMER*

I received an e-copy of this book from Edelweiss 

in exchange for an honest review

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