Sky Song

The snowy kingdom of Erkenwald was once a magical place—until an evil ice witch cursed the land and began stealing the voices of the kingdom’s people to increase her powers.

Eska is one of the many prisoners of the Ice Queen. With no memories of her past, Eska only knows that she cannot allow the Ice Queen to take her voice, that it might be special in some way...

When young inventor Flint sneaks into the Ice Queen’s palace in an attempt to rescue his mother, he ends up rescuing Eska instead. Together, Flint and Eska must journey to the Never Cliffs and beyond in search of an ancient, long-forgotten song with the power to end the Ice Queen’s reign and return voice back to the people of Erkenwald.

This is the story of an eagle huntress, a boy inventor, and a wicked queen in a castle made from ice. But it’s also a story about finding a place to belong, even at the farthest reaches of the world.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Fun, whimsical worlds filled with magic begging to be explored.
• Stories with a fairy-tale feeling with myth and lore.
• Strong sibling bonds and found family.
• A character with Down syndrome (unnamed) who is still a hero.
• Fast-paced adventure that sweeps you right along.
• A world you’ll never want to leave.
• Characters that are super easy to fall in love with.

Mari @ Tirilu has been trying to get me to read an Abi Elphinstone book foreverrrr, but they’re hard to get my hands on over here. So when I saw that this book was going to be releasing, I jumped on the chance and was excited to get an eARC! I have to tell you, I was NOT disappointed in the least bit.

Sky Song is an adventure into a magical, whimsical world filled with darkness and light, with found family and sibling bonds. It’s a charming tale that anyone, of any age, will love!

I am thoroughly sold on Elphinstone as an author and will be for sure picking up the rest of her books to read now! I loved this so much, and I can’t recommend it enough. Somehow, it manages to hit all the best things about middle grade fiction: the self-realization, the journey to find inner strength, the camaraderie, the whimsy, the light in the darkness. It’s all just *chef’s kiss*.

This world is absolutely breathtaking and tragic and a mix of all the things I love most about fantasy worlds.

It has its own history and lore, introduced briefly at the beginning and then expanded on as the story unfolds. There’s so many beautiful things, from the animals to the mythology to the creatures. Yet, there’s a lot of darkness … and not just the Ice Queen, although her too. Elphinstone weaves the most beautiful scenes and then smacks you in the face with something horrific the next minute and then turn around and she’s made you laugh. The world is so well-rounded and lived in and, gosh, have I mentioned how much I want to visit?

The found family and sibling bond themes here are so strong, and I am LOVING it!

Since the adults in this world have been kidnapped, it’s become necessary for the kids to bond together and form their own little family, caring for each other. If you know anything about me, you know how much I love this found family trope! Elphinstone knocks it out of the park with this trope in how the tribes pull together … maybe a little too well, because now any outsider becomes a threat to the family, and tribes have to protect each other.

It’s not just the found family, though … Flint and Blu’s interactions are just *chef’s kiss*. Flint feels the need to protect his younger sister, who has Down syndrome and tends to be naive. Yet, don’t take her lightly, dear reader, because Blu is a force to be reckoned with on her own, and her love for her family rivals no other! I absolutely loved seeing these two interacting and the lengths they would go for each other … and Eska, who they accept as a part of their family, even if no one else will.

This is a grand adventure undertaken by young people with big futures, and I love how uplifting and positive the messages are.

Elphinstone manages to pack in so many wonderful lessons without them feeling like teachable moments. The reader isn’t beaten over the head with after-school specials, but rather lead gently to the conclusion that hope alone can be powerful, that working together is better than in-fighting, and that voices alone can be the most powerful thing in the world and it’s just a matter of how you use them.

There’s a lot of not necessarily coming-of-age in this, but more self-acceptance and finding one’s place in the greater scheme of things, which is a theme that’s so important for the age group but also … any reader, really? I’m technically “an adult” (allegedly), but gosh, it’s still hard finding my place in things and where I fit sometimes.

The heroes in this win the day not by being stronger or bigger than their enemy, but through simple, important things like hope and bravery and teamwork, and these are such important messages in middle grade!

Everybody loves a good story, regardless of your age, but this is a book that not only adults can love for its story and characters on their own merits, but also one they can feel good about handing to a child. It’s not all roses and sunshine, and there’s definitely some moments of doubt and darkness, but that’s part of growth, isn’t it? How boring would it be if there was never any shadow casting doubt on hope? Elphinstone does a wonderful job of balancing these elements, where the darkest moments only shine all the more because of exactly how the characters overcome them.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love stories where the hero just goes in and, like, stabs or blasts everybody. Maaaaybe not so much in middle grade, but I mean, technically that’s what Marvel does, and they get a big YES from me. Still, there’s something so much more empowering and uplifting in knowing that you don’t have to be a special chosen one in order to be a hero. You just have to work on these qualities that everybody can possess. It’s almost inspirational in the fact that everyone has the ability to become a hero in this world.

The disability rep in this is amazing, specifically Down syndrome rep. Though it’s not named, it’s clear that Blu has Down syndrome, and she not only gets to go on the adventure and save the world with Eska and Flint, but she gets to play an active role in the quest!

I was so freaking happy to see this. Blu having Down syndrome is never mentioned, which is an interesting choice, but one that I’m happy to see. There’s never this distinction of “other” given to Blu, and I am labeling it here, only because I believe that this way, the book will find itself into the hands of readers who either need this message or should read it.

Either way, Blu is treated just like all the other characters and heroes. She’s a little different, and that’s mentioned, and Elphinstone doesn’t shy away from the very accurate shortcomings that might arise from someone with Down syndrome going on a mass adventure (like the struggle to accept the changing environment/structure, a certain naivety, and sometimes an impulsivity). But the important thing is, this is treated like any other shortcomings, which ALL the characters necessarily have!

I’ll admit that when I realized Blu had Down syndrome, I cringed just a little, because I’ve seen this done so poorly in fantasy books before. That was just me being silly. I needn’t have worried. Elphinstone handles it so well, and Blu not only gets to go on an adventure but is an active player in the quest, not just some “baggage” toted around, like sometimes the disabeled character is relegated to.

This book not only makes the disabled character equal in every way to the other characters (as she should be), but shows that she also can be a hero, which is a message I think is so freaking important, especially in this age group.

Other Reviews:

• Tales of Yesterday
• Library Lady
• Tirilu

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