Willa of the Wood (Willa of the Wood, Book 1) (Willa of the Wood, 1) Hardcover – July 10, 2018

I was gripped from the very beginning. This story was told most beautifully. The language, the way the author describes the Great Smokey Mountains, is wonderfully poetic. The main character is everything a person should be. I was rooting for her along the entire journey. I can't wait to read the sequel and see how Willa handles the logger situation.

I received an advanced reader copy of Willa of the Wood which is the first of a new series for middle school students written by author Robert Beatty.Mr. Beatty shares Willa’s perspective as he weaves a magical story that blends the life of this young night spirit into the rich local history of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee people. Willa lives with her 137-year-old mamaw who is one of the last surviving woodwitches from the dwindling clan of Faeran people. This 12-year-old girl has the ability to blend into her forest surroundings and can communicate with nature. Willa has a great respect for her heritage and is determined to preserve the old ways of her clan.In the beginning of this action-packed mystery, Willa unwillingly has become her clan’s best thief. She is forced to go out and steal from the human day-folk each evening, by the padaren, who is the fearsome and selfish clan leader.This intriguing story evolves with increasing suspense as Willa’s loyalty and strength of character is evident as she makes important decisions during her interactions and encounters in an enchanted forest with trees, the river, wolves, bears, deer, otters, homesteaders, Cherokee people, her own clan, and the frightening newcomers with the huge destructive “iron machines” that are “murdering trees.” Willa shows great maturity, compassion, and loyalty as she faces one life-threatening event after another while trying to protect those she loves. She is very brave and is able to “stay bold,” just as the character Serafina does in Beatty’s related Serafina series.Willa is an inspiration for those of us who may need a reminder to respect nature and our environment. She learns how not to be judgmental and offers great lessons in kindness and unselfishness. Robert Beatty has again given his readers a gift with his words. His writing is lyrical. The imagery simply lifts me into the setting where he describes the mountain, “. . . white mist of the Smoky Mountains breath floated near its rounded top out across the world . . .” I still think about the “. . . great healing lake of the bears. . .” that he so beautifully described. I continue to think about the lake that “. . . felt as if the light of the sun had become liquid . . .”  I strongly recommend this book as an especially great read aloud for families or classroom use. The various science, history, and cultural themes make it a wonderful book for classroom teachers and this book will be an excellent resource for teaching context clues.  Willa of the Wood

I like Robert Beatty’s novels: I followed Serafina through all three of her novels and became so engaged I toured the Biltmore Estate rooftops, attics, basemets, generator room and all. I wanted to taste just a bit more of Serafina’s world. I was pleasantly amused to find the Workers at the Biltmore Estate seriously view themselves and positively view themselves as modern day Servants of the Vanderbilt Family and as ongoing members of its Biltmore Traditions…they are just a little bit puzzled by the numerous Serafina fans who have taken such an interest in Biltmore and its enchanting surrounds!In this newest series our heroine is Willa who is a Cherokee Night Spirit… from a Western point of view Willa would seem to be Part Angel, part Brownie ( like an English Pixie) and Part Nature Spirit. She calls to the trees who support and protect her. Willa’s world is the Smoky Mountains. Just like there are good angels and bad angels in the Western Tradition there are good and bad Night Spirits in Willa’s World.Like Katness from District 12 of the Hunger Games, Willa lives off the rich Appalachian Land, yet in contrast to Katness, Willa carries no bow nor arrows. Walking with Willa we feel like we have returned to Eden before the Fall. Yet Willow finds her world is Fallen after all and struggles fearlessly to make Right the Wrongs, hold back human Indifference and Abuse of her Mountains.In the earlier Serafina series Serafina is cared for by her loving Stepfather. In this new Willa of the Wood series love of a father for his children as well as genuine human caring and forgiveness again come to the front. On television our children see too much of indifferent parents and poor role models. Willa’s world offers us, both parent and child, a healthier view of who we might become…

I received my copy of Willa of the Wood and was ask to do an early review as I was happy to do on this book and the Serafina series. As a native of Western North Carolina I have spent much of my 74 years in the Smokey Mountains, Cherokee, Blue Ridge Parkway and , of course, the Biltmore Estate. You do not visit these places with just the "tourist" feeling but to me always places that you get the "feeling" there is more than meets the eye!! I have found in all of Robert Beatty's books he proves that to me the feelings are real. The Serafina books were very fast paced and a reading experience I have never felt and they prepared me for Willa of the Wood and her slipping in and out of places and experiences. I found myself cheering Willa on just as I did Serafina and wishing she would be more careful in her adventures. I loved hearing names I know like Cherokee and Clingman's Dome. As Willa did I have felt the magic of the mist rising on the mountains and felt there are stories to be told and Mr. Beatty captured what I felt but unable to express it myself. I learned new words for maybe cookies as 'crumbly lumps". I guess "day folks" are those of us who do not run in the night with the mountain animals and other things. You can imagine what a 2 barrel killing stick is!! Willa is a brave girl whom you will love and cheer her on. I find this book to be a well written book that will not let you put it down for long and will draw you back to keep reading. Makes me proud so many of you will read about the Smokey's and love them as I do.

Fantastic story with a moral for boys and girls alike. Themes of protecting the earth and environment reach children at their level

Puedes llegar a sentir lo mismo que con la saga de Serafina. "Magia", misterio por todo lo que rodea a la protagonista

This isn’t the usual fare, it really isn’t. It’s the story of 12 year old Willa, a member of the wild Faeran clan in the Great Smoky Mountains, people who used to live close to nature, no actually with nature, but nowadays they steal. And it’s the night Willa steals from one of the human homesteaders that her life gets turned upside down. The Faeran are a magical people, able to do woodmagic, to talk to animals and plants, to blend in their surroundings. Or at least, Willa is able to and she doesn’t tell about her abilities, because the leader of the clan forbids the old ways.He wants the young ones to steal and steal a lot. And when Willa starts to uncover that a lot of the things she was told about humans isn’t actually true and that her clan is on a path that brings it ever further away from its old ways, things get ugly and dangerous for her. But it also sets her on her own hero’s journey that changes her profoundly.I loved Willa! She is a great character and I totally believed her otherness. I appreciated that she isn’t automatically and inherently „good“, but grows into it. She learns from every encounter, be it with animal or people and the relationships she forms were heart-wrenching and wonderful at the same time. And it rattled my brain to think how hard her live just have been and what things she is able to live through… a real heroine.

Fantastic book perfect for kids and adults alike , everyone will love it .