Ten-year-old Emma doesn’t believe in faerie tales or monsters that secret children away in the night—until she meets one.She lives in a quiet village at the edge of Widowswood with her parents, her Nan, and her little brother, Tam. Ready to abandon the whimsy of childhood, she finds the boredom of chores comforting and Nan’s fanciful bedtime stories silly.One morning, a wan and weary older girl … weary older girl staggers out of the woods and sets the entire town aflutter with whispers of a child-stealing monster lurking in the forest. Nan tells her of the Banderwigh: a dark soul who feeds on sorrow and drains the life from children’s tears.
Darkness comes calling on Emma’s happy home, threatening the reality to which she desperately clings. The impossible becomes more and more real, forcing Emma to reach inside herself for the ability to believe. Her family depends on it.
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Emma and the Banderwigh (Tales of Widowswood #1) by Matthew S. Cox is another wonderful tale by one of the best fantasy writers out there. Not once, while reading this, did I think this was book was for children. This is a book that will cross all age levels. I was so wrapped up in the adventure, the family, the village, the monsters, that I felt I was part of the story! Cox can do that to a person! I felt I was an invisible part of this family and I loved it. Great fantasy, imaginative creatures, magic, and something in the writing that is not describable, it has to be felt by the reader. This is an excellent book for kids of all ages 10 to 100. Loved it, 10 stars!
Overall rating: 5
My very first thought after I finished reading this was, “ I wonder if there is a hard copy that I can send to my granddaughter?” All I found was a paperback which will have to do. A perfect read for the pre teen reader, one thing I feel that stood out the most was that this author truly captured the personna and emotions of Emma and her siblings. Sincere yet ever so innocent, Emma grabs a readers attention and holds fast as she faces, many times reluctantly, each new trial and lesson that life sets forth. NaN, of course, went about influencing Emma’s beliefs in the most perfect way. I totally finished this book wondering if there is more to come with these characters. All my reviews are voluntarily written.
A fun and spooky fairy tale. I enjoyed how the story played out and despite it being geared towards a younger audience I still enjoyed it. It reminded me of like a Chronicles of Narnia adventure. If you enjoy spooky fairy tales with brave little girls then be sure to give this a read!
5 out of 5 stars
only ten and don’t believe in fairy tales that is what is happening to Emma . She lives with her family outside the small village. and one day a young girl comes out of the woods talking of a child stealing monster lurking monster . When the darkness comes calling what is Emma to do . She needs to reach deep inside herself to save her family , I really like the characters in this story, Emma is a sweet character trying to grow up . But you see her grow up and become more . She is strong and sweet and really wants to help others . She is a great problem solver for others and really likes to help . Nan is a fun character too she tries to keep Emma from growing up too fast and her stories The author takes us on epic fantasy journey that anyone from middle grade to adults . The story is well written and the characters are complex. This is a story of growing up and becoming more then just a child . The story starts a little slow but with all the twists and turns the author takes us on an epic adventure . I truly love this authors way of writing and the stories he tells . This would be a great series for a snowy night by the fire . Both adults and kids would love it . Check it out
This was a rather odd tale. The world the author creates is very different from our modern one. Several little things highlight this, from descriptions of their surroundings and living arrangements (including a family bed!), to tales of fantastic beasts and magic creatures. Some of the dialogue seems forced and false, probably a result of trying to create a dialect similar enough to ours to be understood and different enough to be distinctive. Most of the characters are very believable and quite affable. The main character, Emma, is an amazing child, mature beyond her years, and incredibly brave. In fact, it is she who defeats the Banderwigh, not just once but twice, and even actually saves the man he was, although it does little good in the end. The hardest part for me to believe was that Emma was so oblivious, prior to the events of the book, to the fact that her mother and grandmother were apparently some type of Druid priestesses, dispensing justice and assistance as they saw fit to humans and non-humans alike. Even for someone who admittedly was a non-believer prior to this, missing the fact that your mother returns home from a walk in the woods with green blood on her staff from mythical creatures that she’s been clubbing and that your grandmother often has feathers flying around her from her shape-shifting forays as a raven is rather hard to believe. Some large sections of the story just seemed to go back and forth between nothing, with scenes written just for the sake of writing them and adding to the word count, rather than actually advancing the plot. Those portions I found boring and more than a tad annoying. Overall, however, the story was good, definitely unique, and I appreciated the relatively happy and yet realistic ending for the main characters. A book that I would recommend for a fanciful read, if you can make it through the slow parts. I received a copy of this book free from Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for my honest review.