Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson (review)

Reviewed by: Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson Alaine Martaus Wilkinson, Lili Deep is the Fen. Delacorte, 2024 416p Trade ed. ISBN 9780593562703 19. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780593562727 10. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 8-12 Seventeen-year-old Merriweather Morgan is content with her small, unchanging, unmagical village life in Candlecott with her two closest friends, Teddy and Sol, away from her country's dangerous witches, who rebel against Anglyon's regulated, corporatized magic. So, when Teddy falls in with the Toadmen, a men-only social group dealing in nefarious magic, Merry panics, especially because her hidden gift for seeing people's mettle (life-force) reveals that the Toads are tingeing his silver mettle a muddy brown. To save him, Merry teams up with frustratingly attractive nemesis and rich-boy prat Caraway Boswell, who's on an anti-Toad mission of his own, and attends a Toadmen's gathering in far-off Deeping Fen. But even as the friction between Merry and Caraway begins to spark, the horrifying truth of the Toadmen is revealed, and their quest to save one friend becomes a quest to save the world. Evocative and deeply atmospheric, this novel offers a fen-deep narrative that will suck readers in with a fast-paced plot and moments of heartbreak, budding romance, and rousing revolution. It's a curious world, where cars and corporations exist alongside monster-ridden swamps, magic-rehabilitating farms, and enchanted castles, perfect for those seeking uniquely blended worldbuilding. Strongest of all are the driving themes, as Wilkinson sets up fairy tale tropes just to knock them sideways. She takes a clearly feminist tack with gendered magic and genuinely repulsive misogynistic villains but creates space beyond binaries for characters, romance, and magic alike. Merry is the recognizable obstinate headstrong heroine, but readers will relate to her fears and frustrations, admire her courage, and thrill when she gets her prince by defeating toads instead of kissing them. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois