Illustrated by Manuel Sumberac

Published by Orion Children’s Books

ISBN 9 781510 111943

Rhodd is a mysterious child taken in when she appears at the edge of the marsh by Cerys, one of many women in the village whose children have been lost to the marshes. Rhodd is at once some kind of supernatural being who can converse with animals more easily than with humans, and a scrapping underdog with fire in her belly. There is fun to be had when she and her only friend Gar outwit the local bullies – these two are bright in a world of ignorance. But there is a real sense of shame, too, in how they and their mothers are treated as outsiders by the other villagers. There’s a gothic atmosphere reminiscent of ‘The Woman in Black’ created by the geographically isolated setting and the Victorian era with the local, wealthy landowner providing more than one plot twist.

In the end, a dreadful sickness comes to the village, and both Rhodd and her mother accept that it is time for her to face up to her unnamed duty to return the sea to the village, somehow required to push back the encroaching marshland which has killed it. The struggle is real, an adventure with many twists, a deal of humour and moments of profound despair and hope.

Wilder is one of those books that has stayed with me after reading.  I’m haunted by the poignancy of the weight on Rhodd’s shoulders, or perhaps by the fact that although there is an element of mythology and other worldliness to this plot, it eloquently reminds us of our eternal responsibility to and membership of the natural world. Perhaps because Rhodd is a character we care about, or because it is a study of friendship and loyalty and courage, of man’s place in nature, Wilder is a moving and thought-provoking book which will appeal to young people but give plenty of food for thought to the adults lucky enough to read it, too.

With thanks to @HachetteKids for my copy of this book.