The School Between Winter and Fairyland

by Heather Fawcett (Author)

The School Between Winter and Fairyland
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Twelve-year-old Autumn Malog is a servant at the enchanting Inglenook School, where young magicians study to become the king's future monster-hunters. Along with her Gran and three too many older brothers, she works as a beastkeeper, tending to Inglenook's menagerie of terrifying monsters. But when she isn't mucking out the wyvern stalls or coaxing the resident boggart to behave, Autumn searches for clues about her twin brother's mysterious disappearance. Everyone else thinks he was devoured by the feared Hollow Dragon, but Autumn is convinced she's heard--and glimpsed--him calling to her from within the castle walls. But who will believe a lowly servant? So when Cai Morrigan, the "Chosen One" prophesied to one day destroy the Hollow Dragon, comes to her for help, Autumn agrees on one condition: Together, they'll search for her brother and uncover the dark truth at the heart of enchanting Inglenook School once and for all.

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ALA/Booklist

A vividly realized adventure set in an imaginative fantasy world.

Kirkus

Starred Review

A magical addition to any bookshelf.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Ever since her twin brother Winter vanished last year, cued-white Autumn Malog, 12, whose family serves as beastkeepers for the Inglenook School of Magic, has been unwilling to accept his purported death. Then she encounters brown-skinned Cai Morrigan, 12, the school's most famous student, whom prophecies claim will slay the dread Hollow Dragon, which has for years terrorized the bordering Gentlewood. Though staff and students are discouraged from socializing, Cai makes a bargain with Autumn: he'll use his knowledge of Inglenook to assist her in finding Winter, whom she believes may be magically trapped in the school, if she helps Cai overcome his fear of dragons. But as their quest takes them into the property's dark secrets, they begin to suspect there's more to Cai and the prophecy than anyone expected. In this lively fantasy, Fawcett (The Language of Ghosts) plays with familiar tropes (magical schools, chosen ones), centering a female protagonist, a fresh take on heroics, and a clearly built world layered with history and an interesting magical system. Ages 8-12. Agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House. (Oct.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Heather Fawcett
Heather Fawcett writes books for adults, kids, and teens, including Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, The Islands of Elsewhere, the Even the Darkest Stars series, Ember and the Ice Dragons, and more. She has a master's degree in English Literature and a bachelor's in Archaeology.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780063043329
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Publication date
January 17, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV002270 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dragons, Unicorns & Mythical
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Magic
Schools
Fantasy
Fantasy fiction
Boarding schools
Animals, Mythical

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