This original illustrated middle-grade fantasy from acclaimed author and illustrator duo Frances Hardinge and Emily Gravett follows a girl who must venture through the ravenous, dangerous Forest that has overtaken her world to save her community.

Multiple starred reviews! "Sumptuous worldbuilding and deft plotting make for a harrowing dystopian story that nevertheless thrums with hope." (Kirkus starred review)

One thing Feather knows to be true is that given the chance, the Forest will devour her home just like it's devoured everything else in her world. Her small community lives in a section of the crumbling Wall that runs through and above the trees, doing everything they can to keep the Forest out.

When a stranger tricks Feather and makes off with her people's precious spyglass, she has no choice but to go after him, coming face-to-face with the Forest's dangers--and to revelations beyond her wildest imagination.

In the same stunning format as Island of Whispers, this story about perseverance and community from Costa Book Award winner Frances Hardinge and acclaimed illustrator Emily Gravett is sure to become a new classic.

Author: Frances Hardinge
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Amulet Books
Published: 08/26/2025
Pages: 128
Weight: 1.39lbs
Size: 9.96h x 7.93w x 0.62d
ISBN: 9781419777783


Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2025
Publishers Weekly 05/19/2025
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2025
School Library Journal 07/01/2025 pg. 71
Booklist 07/01/2025 pg. 81
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2025 pg. 65

About the Author
Frances Hardinge is the winner of the Costa Book of the Year for The Lie Tree, one of just two young adult novels to win the major UK literary prize. Known for her beautiful use of language, Hardinge has written many critically acclaimed novels, including Unraveller, Deeplight, A Skinful of Shadows, Cuckoo Song, Gullstruck Island, Fly by Night, Verdigris Deep, and Fly Trap. UK-based illustrator Emily Gravett is the winner of two CILIP Kate Greenaway Medals. Gravett first sprang into the limelight with the groundbreaking Wolves, which has been followed by such modern classics as Meerkat Mail, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears, Monkey and Me, Again!, the Bear and Hare series, Tidy, Old Hat, Cyril and Pat, and Meerkat Christmas.