Author: Jessica Townsend

Publisher: Lothian Children’s Books

First Published: 30 October 2018

“These were supposed to be her brothers and sisters. Loyal for life. But with a single word, they were looking at her as if she was their enemy.”  

This is a sequel; I will try and keep my review as spoiler free as possible but just be wary if you haven’t read first book, Nevermore: The Trails of Morrigan Crow.

Also if you haven’t read the first book, you should it’s all kinds of awesome!

Wunder is gathering in Nevermoor …

Morrigan Crow may have defeated her deadly curse, passed the dangerous trials and joined the mystical Wundrous Society, but her journey into Nevermoor and all its secrets has only just begun. And she is fast learning that not all magic is used for good.

Morrigan Crow has been invited to join the prestigious Wundrous Society, a place that promised her friendship, protection and belonging for life. She’s hoping for an education full of wunder, imagination and discovery – but all the Society want to teach her is how evil Wundersmiths are. And someone is blackmailing Morrigan’s unit, turning her last few loyal friends against her. Has Morrigan escaped from being the cursed child of Wintersea only to become the most hated figure in Nevermoor?

Worst of all, people have started to go missing. The fantastical city of Nevermoor, once a place of magic and safety, is now riddled with fear and suspicion

I was so excited to be back in Nevermoor. Honestly, this place is one of my all-time favourite fantasy settings. I cannot get enough of it. It was so fun to see Morrigan and the gang of Hotel Deucalion.

Wundersmith picks up right after the events of the first book. Morrigan has passed the dangerous trials and is one of the nine children selected to be part of the Wundrous Society’s unit 919. Finally, Morrigan is hoping to find a place where she belongs and find people who care about her after spending her whole life being treated like a curse. The idea takes a horrible nosedive when the other students in her unit are told of her knack. They fear her and want nothing to do with her. Hawthorn and Candace are the only two who continue to befriend Morrigan. Their relationship starts to strain as someone starts to blackmail unit. The unit will need to use all their knacks to make it through the first six months of their schooling.

I love the Wunderous Society and honestly want to go there! The school is split into two parts. There is the Mundane Arts — for those practical and public-facing knacks — and the Arcane Arts — for the magical and supernatural abilities. The students have a wide range of subjects that fit with their knacks, from Dragonriding, Decoding Nevermoor to Opening a Dialogue with the Death and Bomb-Defusing Basics. Unfortunately for Morrigan since the school is terrified of her ability — due to the evil deeds of the last known Wundersmith — most of her year is spent on one class where she learns about how evil, terrible and monstrous Wundersmiths are.

Morrigan is one of the strongest characters I have read. If I were in her shoes, I would never leave the hotel. She tries her best to befriend the rest of the students in her unit. When each member of 919 is blackmailed, into protecting their unit’s secret, she reaches out to them to see if she can help. I love her friendship with Hawthorne — nothing seems to faze him. I enjoyed seeing her friendship with Cadence and her friendship with Jack grow in this book.

Jupiter North, what a beautiful man! Honestly, he has a heart of gold. He spends most of the story absent as he’s on the search team for missing Nevermoorians. It feels like he’s away more than he was in the first book, which is saying something. Jupiter is also searching for proof that Wundersmiths aren’t the monsters Morrigan is lead to believe they are. Which is so sweet, it makes my heart want to burst.

Wundersmith is an incredible story. It has all the whimsy and creativity I’d ever want from a middle-grade fantasy. I never want this series to end. I am still hoping we get an adaptation in the future. I cannot see what Hollowpox: The Hunting of Morrigan Crow has in store for Morrigan, Hawthorne, Cadence and the rest of the gang.