By: Andrea Cox Christen
Format: Available in Paperback, ePub, and MOBI
Genre: Fantasy
Willowmere
“To Pea, Love Mom”
…reads the necklace twelve-year-old Pea finds stuck high in the willow tree Mom had planted long ago on their ranch. Pea doesn’t know how it got there. If Mom were alive, she would ask her. But when Pea takes the necklace, the tree reveals a secret tunnel to Willowmere—the magical world built by her mom’s stories.
Pea crawls through the tunnel and realizes that Willowmere is crumbling. Frightening dangers lurk behind each tree, and magic is deteriorating into chaos. All she learns seems to contradict everything she knows.
But could Mom still be alive in Willowmere? If Pea can learn to trust her new friends, and harness the power of stories, she might just save the world.
But she’ll have to save herself first.
Meet Andrea Cox Christen,
the author of Willowmere
Talitha J Hart –
This is a wonderful adventure story for kids who love using their imagination and playing outside. Pea is good and kind, but also flawed and a relatable character. Her journey to make friends, find family, and save a magical kingdom is both entertaining and uplifting.
Diana Dominguez –
In Willowmere, Andrea Cox Christen uses a fantasy epic journey setting as a metaphor for coming to terms with a child’s fear and grief at the loss of a parent. Pea’s journey through the magical realm of Willowmere, created through her recently deceased mother’s stories, helps Pea come to terms with her mom’s absence in her life. She learns to deal with her fear, anger, and sense of abandonment by joining with characters in the fantasy dreamland to restore the good parts of Willowmere that seem to have been eroded because of her mom’s sudden death. The novel is also a coming of age story, as Pea acquires a level of maturity to understand others’ feelings beyond her own self-centered focus. There are some dark and scary aspects to Pea’s journey, which could be disturbing to more sensitive young readers, but this aspect could lead to honest and helpful discussions with loving adults to deal with some of these strong emotions. The ultimate message of the story – that a loved one is never really gone as long as their memory is kept alive – is perhaps a bit too metaphoric as there is the implication that Pea can return to Willowmere to be with her mom. This could have the potential to confuse some readers unless there is some realistic discussion about death and memory and grief. The fantasy elements will appeal to middle grade readers but the challenges Pea faces – one right after another – do get tiring and overwhelming at times.
Overall, the story is well crafted, and the fantasy journey plot is a creative and beautiful idea for helping kids deal with the idea of loss and grief. Thanks to Chicken Scratch Books and Andrea Cox Christen for the opportunity to read this advance review copy for free, and I leave this review voluntarily.
dasanders.is –
Willowmere is great read for children who have enjoyed fantasies like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Roar. I really liked Andrea Cox Christen’s story and characters. It was full of adventure, dangers, and unpredictable problems for the characters to solve by working together and discovering their own inner strengths. It is well written and moves along at a good pace.
Pea (Penelope) is dealing with grief over the loss of her mother and fearfulness. Suddenly she discovers the world of Willowmere which was created by her mother’s wonderful imagination and stories. However, Willowmere is falling apart without Pea’s mother’s stories that created Willowmere. Can Pea face her fears and grief and save Willowmere? Can she find her mom somewhere in Willowmere? Pea must learn to work with new friends, conquer her fears, and learn to forgive to be successful in healing the broken magical world.
The values of friendship, courage, forgiveness, and love carry the characters through to a satisfying ending.
Betty Vanderwielen –
Willowmere
For Pea (Penelope), entering the magical world of Willowmere is a way to connect with her recently deceased mother. It is the world created by her mother’s richly imagined stories. But without her mother’s presence as the queen of Willowmere, the world is decaying. Pea learns that the way to reconnect with her mother is by curing the decay, by infusing Willowmere with her own memories and stories.
While Willowmere is an action-filled fantasy, it is also a book about acceptance. Throughout the book, Pea learns to accept grief, to accept the help of others, to adjust her memories, to accept that her mother was not quite as perfect as Pea wanted to believe. It is also a book about learning that others need her help, and learning how to give as well as receive.
Elizabeth Raum –
Willowmere reminded me of a modern Alice in Wonderland tale. Pea doesn’t fall down a rabbit hole; she slips through a tree into another world where she meets intriguing characters desperately in need of help. The book has a fairy-tale feel with enough scary parts to keep readers on edge. I particularly enjoyed the glimpse into life on a Montana ranch. All in all, Willowmere is an enjoyable adventure story with heart.
SageReads –
A delightful adventure through a magical land. The author deals with the difficult subject of grief with sensitivity and a light touch. Overall, Willowmere is a heartwarming tale about love and family with a relatable main character and a satisfying ending.
Jennifer Clower –
Willomere is a fun read about a young girl named Pea who discovers a secret world that her mother made as a child. Pea is dealing with her grief over the loss of her mother and the change in her relationship with her father as they navigate life without her mother. The story reminds me of an “Alice in Wonderland” or “Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe” feel as Pea enters the make-believe world through a willow tree that her mother plants as a child. She needs to problem solve and work together to overcome the problems in the secret world and save its inhabitants. She learns to deal with her fears, process her grief and deal with new feelings like jealousy as they save the world. Whimsical and encouraging read that moves along at a good pace. Love the clean story line with the positive moral values. This would make for a great family read-aloud too!
Thank you to Chicken Scratch Books for providing an advance reader copy of this book to me for free and allowing me to leave an honest review.
Kay Lalone –
Pea and Laurel are such great characters. I enjoyed following them on their adventure as they search for Pea’s mom the queen of Willmere.
Amanda C. –
This enjoyable book has it all- humor, drama, grief and fantasy. A sweet and poignant tale set against the backdrop of Montana that is a perfect read for ages 9 and up. The author does an excellent job of painting the scenery and ranch life; it brought back my old fascination that I had with Montana when I was younger. The book tells the story of a girl named Pea and the challenges that she goes through while processing the death of her mother. There are fantastical elements woven throughout that really help to illuminate the deep emotional journey that Pea was on. The characters are real and you feel like you know them, especially as they work through relational struggles. I love the way the author describes things- very imaginative and done very well. This would be a wonderful read aloud for a family or read independently by a child. I will be buying extra copies for my hard-to-buy-for nieces; I know they will see a bit of themselves in the characters and it will leave them with their heart full.
I received a free copy from Chicken Scratch Books however my review is voluntary and my own opinion.
Heidi DeStefano –
If you enjoy books with portals to imaginary worlds, this would be a good read for you. The story also deals with a young girl’s over the loss of her mother and gives an authentic description of how a death can alter family dynamics.