Curse of the Phoenix
by Aimee CarterPublished by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on June 8, 2021
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
The creatures of legend are real—and it’s up to twins Zac and Lu to save them in this fun-filled middle grade adventure perfect for fans of Fablehaven and The Hotel Between.
Twins Zac and Lu grew up on their mother’s stories of the Wildewoods, an imaginary land where mythical beasts roam free. These creatures fill the pages of Zac’s sketchbooks and inspire Lu’s love of animals, and on most days, they’re the only thing the twins have in common.
When their mother dies, a heartbroken Lu and Zac are shipped off to England to spend the summer with relatives they’ve never met. But it doesn’t take the twins long to uncover the incredible secret tucked away in the forest behind their ancestral home: their mother’s wonderful tales about unicorns and dragons and centaurs weren’t make-believe after all. Their family serves as keepers of the Wildewoods, the last place on earth where these mythical creatures can live safe from human harm.
But there are also many dangers in these lands—as well as a terrible curse. When Zac and Lu fall victim to it, their only hope is finding the very last living phoenix left in the world. But will breaking the curse mean the end of the Wildewoods?
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- Books filled with animals (including the mythical kind).
- World filled with magic and wonder.
- But also sometimes scary, dark creatures too.
- Siblings forced to grow closer and help each other.
- Family bonds, along with dark family secrets.
- Grief and loss and healing after the death of a parent.
Many thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.
This cover is so utterly charming that there really wasn’t any way I could not read this book. Unicorns and dragons and phoenixes, oh my! Mix that with some heartwarming sibling bonds and yes, right onto my TBR it went.
Curse of the Phoenix is an adventure filled with mythical creatures, dark family secrets, and plenty of adventure, featuring sibling bonds, chronic illness rep, and a heartwarming story about grief and healing.
I came for the adventure but was pleasantly surprised to find that this also has chronic illness rep (which I hadn’t realized). One of the protagonists has asthma and severe allergies to . . . well, most things, actually. It’s the sibling bonds, though, that really stole the show with this one! Zac and Lu make quite the team, and I loved going on this adventure with them.
Animal lovers are sure to love all the mythical creatures that call the Wildewood home! They’re mythical, they’re magical, and sometimes they’re quite dangerous.
After all, what would be an adventure without a bit of danger, right? The creatures that live in the Wildewood, as Lu and Zac’s family stresses, are wild. There are those that are less likely to harm humans, certainly, but that doesn’t make them tame. I particularly enjoyed this distinction, as well as the healthy dose of respect given to the creatures and the fact that the humans are trespassing on their habitat and they’re just responding as they do. Lu, especially, as an animal lover who’s used to approaching wild animals (generally in the form of stray cats and the like, of course) repeatedly reminds Zac that you shouldn’t just walk up to an animal you don’t know. I’m especially partial to this narrative because it’s something I need to remind Minion all the time!
There’s a little of everything when it comes to creatures, from unicorns to dragons to centaur and all sorts of things in between.
I would’ve enjoyed spending a little more time in the Wildewood and learning more about the creatures. I feel like there are a lot mentioned, but they’re sort of episodic and in passing. Still, it’s a wonderful setting for a middle grade book, and certainly somewhere I’d love to visit. I can easily imagine middle grade readers will be as charmed as I was with this world!
“You know you need your medication, Rufus,” she said, gripping the rough bark. “We shouldn’t have to do this every single day.”
After the death of their mother, Lu and Zac spend the summer with family they didn’t even know they had on their mother’s side . . . and this family isn’t without its secrets. The dark kind.
Carter does such a wonderful job building up tension and suspense around these secrets. When Zac and Lu arrive at their family’s mansion (because how’s that for a surprise?!), they soon realize things aren’t quite what they seem. Never mind the fact that their mother never even told them that she had family (which is kind of a big omission), but the family seems divided on whether the twins should be there in the first place. Lu especially is really good at eavesdropping (and honestly, what kid isn’t?!), which makes for some interesting overheard conversations!
I don’t know if it was just me being utterly oblivious, but I didn’t even guess the couple of family plot twists in the book, and I was pleasantly surprised when they were revealed!
I may have suspected a few different things, but I’m always a fan when plot twists sneak up on me but still make sense at the same time. They’re not major plot twists, but they definitely change the feel of the book in a couple places, which is always fun! I do enjoy a book that keeps me guessing.
And dragons. Which sort of made sense, all things considered.
But now that they knew dragons were real—and unicorns, and centaurs, and whatever else the Wildewoods were hiding—it didn’t seem like such a huge leap to believe in curses, too, after he’d had a little time to process it all.
There’s a beautiful theme of grief and healing, both among adults and the twins, at the loss of their mother. It’s guaranteed to tug at heart strings!
The book is set shortly after Zac and Lu’s mother dies suddenly. Zac, unfortunately, is the one who finds her collapsed on the kitchen floor, and he has a lot of grief and trauma around that. Not to mention the guilt, as misplaced as it is, that he didn’t take better care of his mother or look after her more. The stages of grief that Lu and Zac go through just tugs my heart strings. What I love the most is that they eventually need to come together to help each other forgive themselves and understand that it’s neither of their faults.
It isn’t just the kids grieving, though. Their father is, too, and that was probably the hardest part for me to read.
Their father does some really crappy things, like shipping them off to family they didn’t know in the summer. It made me so freaking angry, but at the same time, it was clear he was basically having a nervous breakdown at that point. I think this is such an interesting plot point that I don’t see in middle grade that much, and it’s so important! Adults grieve, too, and they need permission and space to do so. And sometimes they make choices they later regret while they’re grieving.
A frown flickered across her face, and for one horrible moment, he thought she would say no. But instead she stood, brushing the dust off her shorts. “If we get caught, I’m throwing you to the wolves and saving myself.”
He exhaled, his relief sharp in his chest. “Probably the smart thing to do,” he said with a shrug. “I couldn’t outrun them anyway.”
A slow grin spread across Lu’s face, chasing the shadows away. It was the first time Zac had seen her smile like that since before their mother had died, and he couldn’t help but grin back. Their life might be in shambles right now, but at least he felt like his sister was on his side.
The sibling bonds in this book are so fraught with tension and grief and emotion that as much as I enjoyed the adventure, I think I enjoyed Lu and Zac working through their grief together the most in this book.
I’m sure middle grade readers will probably disagree with me . . . unless they’ve experienced grief and loss themselves? I’m a big advocate for books that tackle this, because most middle grade readers will lose someone in their lives. The way Zac and Lu fall apart after their mother’s death and then slowly grow together is just *chef’s kiss*. All the feels.
The healing process is even further complicated by the fact that Zac is chronically ill, which means a lot of things can make him sick or even prove to be fatal.
For Lu, the idea of losing her brother after losing her mother is extra terrifying, and she goes into ultra protective mode. Her mother isn’t around to take care of Zac anymore, so it falls to her, of course. For Zac, he harbors a bunch of guilt over his limitations and fears he’s holding his sister back. He’s also often frustrated about his illness and the things he can’t do. Both of them have such valid and relatable fears, and watching them grow together and heal each other was so rewarding!
“What do you mean?” she said as she settled back into bed.
“You shouldn’t have jumped in after me today,” he mumbled. I mean—thank you, but—you could have died.”
“You could have too,” she said. “And you’re my brother. Even if you’re annoying most of the time, I’m alwawys going to jump in after you.”
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great review!
chelsea @ your bookish friend recently posted…strange gods by alison kimble
Thank you!
I LOVE that there are so many great Middle Grade fantasies coming out these days! I am probably more jealous than I should be of today’s young readers, since I would have loved having this variety when I was their age. Oh well, I can still read the books now! 😀
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[…] ★★★★★ || GoodreadsThis was a really fun story! I mean, that cover absolutely hooked me from the very beginning. While this is a little surprisingly dark for middle grade, it’s not without purpose. The whole point is that hope is able to win out, even in the darkest times. There are some beautiful scenes about the strength of girls and sticking together and helping each other. It’s written in a really beautiful way that feels very much like a fairy tale. […]