Besides Carson's beautiful illustrations, what I loved most about
Wildwood was that the child protagonists are smart (even though they
sometimes make mistakes), resourceful, creative, and are fully realized,
self-actualized characters. The book is slightly subversive --
including smoking, drinking, violence, disobedience, and rebellious orphans! -- just like all good children's literature should be.
From the publisher: Ever since Prue McKeel
returned home from the Impassable Wilderness after rescuing her brother
from the malevolent Dowager Governess, life has been pretty dull. School
holds no interest for her, and her new science teacher keeps getting on
her case about her dismal test scores and daydreaming in class. Her
mind is constantly returning to the verdant groves and sky-tall trees of
Wildwood, where her friend Curtis still remains as a
bandit-in-training.
But all is not well in that
world. Dark assassins with mysterious motives conspire to settle the
scores of an unknown client. A titan of industry employs inmates from
his orphanage to work in his machine shop, all the while obsessing over
the exploitation of the Impassable Wilderness. And, in what will be
their greatest challenge yet, Prue and Curtis are thrown together again
to save themselves and the lives of their friends, and to bring unity to
a divided country. But in order to do that, they must go under
Wildwood.
CART
