A wonderful middle grade fantasy book about goblins, fae, and the love of a mother! Highly enjoyable and rewarding. ( )

Received via NetGalley for review.

Unfortunately, this is not the book for me. The premise is great (a human baby and a Changeling mixed up before the switch could occur), but it never grabbed me and I kept getting distracted. I've decided to stop about 1/4 of the way through, after much effort. ( )

children's middlegrade fantasy fiction
lovely storytelling and even a little scary to satisfy those young readers who crave a little spook. Can't wait for the next one. ( )

I received a complementary copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

"By now she had learned what more experienced parents could have told her as a young mother: mischief is in the nature of goblins and growing children in roughly equal measure, which left the matter uncertain far longer than she had anticipated."

One of my favorite things about this book was the boy's mother, Annie Burton. She was a badass mom that loved her children, despite one of them being a goblin changeling. She didn't care which one was magical or different, and loved them both in equal measure. They were her boys, and she would do anything to keep them safe. I really liked that she played a large role in this story, and that she wasn't willing to simply leave her children to their fate. The boys were what? 12? They shouldn't be roaming through the Wild Wood alone–regardless of their reasons–and I'm happy Annie didn't hesitate to go after them. Her love was palpable, and it saved Cole and Tinn more than once.

On the other hand, I hated not knowing what happened to their father, and wish it had been addressed during this book. We're told he disappeared shortly after their one child became two–the result of a confused and inexperienced goblin–but never learn why he left or where he went. Annie assumes he's dead, the townspeople think he disappeared in the Wild Wood, so hopefully the author picks up that thread in a later book.

Cole and Tinn were fun characters to read about, and I liked how strong their sibling relationship was. They weren't just brothers, but best friends. They did everything together, whether it was stealing apples or going to a school dance. They have no idea which one of them is the changeling, and it's something that has weighed heavily on their minds for years (the loss of their father, the talk of the townspeople, the uncertainty of their own flesh and blood). However, they both wanted to be the changeling, so their sibling could continue living a normal life. There were no selfish characters in this book (even Kull was doing a bad thing for the right reasons), and I enjoyed seeing the love between the boys and their mother.

I really liked Fable as well, and I'm really happy the second book seems to be centered on her. She's a very interesting character, and the fact that she's half-magic makes me want to know more about her history. Her mother was also fiercely protective of her, but again, no father. She's definitely keeping secrets from her daughter, and I desperately want to know what they are! I have a feeling we're going to see more of the world that her mother experienced as a child, and the in-between place Fable was able to access in this book without getting hurt.

The magical creatures were interesting and fun to read about (particularly the hinkypunks), and some of the information was new-to-me. I really liked how the author portrayed the characters within this book, and that his spin on known creatures was subtle without being confusing. He made them unique to his book while still keeping their core characteristics. My son also liked learning about the creatures that lived in the Wild Wood, especially the Thing without a name or purpose. He devoured the clues the author dropped about a creature cloaked in shadows, and was really surprised with how that particular part of the story played out. I also wasn't expecting something like that, and hope there's more to that tale as well.

My son and I both really enjoyed this book, and we're looking forward to starting The Unready Queen in the next few days (we're currently in the middle of a Goosebumps book). Changeling was a wonderful story with relatable characters, amazing family-vibes, and a magical world that was surprisingly believable.

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*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Changeling is a beautiful coming-of-age story about two boys raised as twin brothers; they know that one of them is a “changeling”–a goblin–but neither knows which one of them is human and which is a goblin. The story tackles what it means to be family, friends, and of course, human. Ritter does a brilliant job of going back and forth between each boy showing that each has typical “goblin” and “human” characteristics, truly making it impossible to guess which one is which until the moment when it is revealed by magic.

I love the folklore that provides the foundation of the story and can’t wait for this series to continue so that we can learn more about the different magical creatures and the forest, and of course, follow Tinn and Cole’s adventures. Ritter includes classic folklore tales while giving them his own twist, which makes for an interesting, fresh-feeling read. The book picked up a lot when the boys got to the forest and my favorite parts were learning more about the forest creatures and the forest’s witch.

I also really enjoyed that we’re able to get the twins’ mom’s point-of-view in various chapters–it’s nice to know that she is completely dedicated to her two boys: human or goblin, she fiercely loves both of them, which was SO GREAT. I was worried that one boy was going to be singled it as “the probable goblin,” but she looks at both boys as her sons. She fights for them constantly along the way and when they venture off by themselves, she’s right behind them, trying to save them. Truly an amazing character.

This book is super fun and relatively fast-paced. Once they got to the proper adventuring part of it, I truly couldn’t put it down. I kept talking about it to everyone who would listen (even if they wouldn’t) because I loved the characters and the story so much. It’s the sort of book that would have been an absolute favorite of mine if it had been around when I was younger. It has heartwarming lessons and is so, so entertaining. I highly recommend this.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. ( )