Windswept

(Hardback)

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Description

From Newbery Honorwinner Margi Preus, a gripping middle-grade fantasy about a girl who must save the children of her world from being "windswept" In Tags world, children under the age of 15 are kept locked indoors. Those who do venture Outside are windsweptdisappearing in the midst of snow squallsTags sisters among them. Many have tried to find the lost children; all have failed. And since the Other Times, the Powers That Be seem strangely intent to keep it that way.All that remains from those Other Times are snippets of songs, way too much plastic trash, and a few forbidden booksincluding the fairy tales Tag stumbles upon. That book, a mysterious invitation, and a possibly magic hair ribbon set Tag and an unlikely crew of "youngers" on a perilous quest to find their windswept siblings. To save their future they must face invisible pursuers, various bewitchments, and ravenously hungry trolls, and, at every turn, risk being windswept themselves.

Reviews

Windswept is a pure delight. Tag's story is one of our past and futureand the ways that stories can shape our destiny. I loved every moment. * Jonathan Auxier, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Gardener and Sweep *

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Inspired primarily by the Norwegian fairy tale The Three Princesses in the Mountain Blue, this edgy, somewhat dystopian tale set in a world where race holds no significance masterfully blends European fairy-tale motifs with timely warnings about human greed, waste, and destructiveness while extoling the power of storytelling. . . An inventive, memorable must-read."

* Kirkus Reviews *

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Her hypnotic writing will tug at readers hearts and keep them mesmerized. Veves illustrations and maps add interest and enhance the text. This must-read grand adventure with unlikely heroes will appeal to all fantasy lovers."

* School Library Journal *
Preus grounds the fantasy by detailing the skewed reality of Tags everyday life before leaving home and by keeping her thoughts and emotions at the forefront during her journey. . . An engaging adventure story well suited to reading aloud. * Booklist *
Via sensate prose (outside tasted sweet and spicy and slightly dangerous) and jam-packed worldbuilding that borrows from Norwegian fairy tales, Preus smartly employs the fairy tale form to investigate ethics around avarice, exploitation, and communal priority. * Publishers Weekly *

**STARRED REVIEW**
"The tone here is pitch-perfect, capturing that particular fairy-tale flavor of the absurd mingling with the deeply serious; slapstick alongside real suspense; and language being bent, re-purposed, and enjoyed for its own deliciousness."

* The Horn Book Magazine *

Author Bio

Margi Preus is a New York Times bestselling author of the Newbery Honor Book Heart of a Samurai and other notable books for young readers, including West of the Moon, Shadow on the Mountain, and Village of Scoundrels. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota, land of snow squalls and cardamom buns. Armando Veve is an award-winning illustrator whose drawings have appeared in numerous publications around the globe, including The New Yorker, National Geographic, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and Smithsonian magazine, as well as with Cartoon Networks Adult Swim and Art of Play. His permanent public art installation commissioned by MTA Arts & Design for Metro North Railroad was completed in 2021. He is a Society of Illustrators gold medalist, ADC Young Gun, and Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree. Armando studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and lives in Philadelphia.