From the Bookshelf of Mock Newbery 2026

Wildwood
by
Start date
October 1, 2011
Finish date
October 31, 2011
Discussion
What We Are Reading This Month
Why we're reading this
Our poll winner from last month was "Wildwood" followed by "The Mostly True Story of Jack" by Kelly Barnh…more

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Group Discussions About This Book

September 2026 - A Day at the Beach
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last updated Sep 07, 2025 06:50PM
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October Read- Wildwood
By Kristen · 7 posts · 99 views
last updated Jan 19, 2012 08:48PM

What Members Thought

Carmine
2 for the writing + 4 for the illustrations which are amazing = 3 over all. I nearly abandoned after the Portland hipster preciousness of the first chapter. Seriously, apparently we needed to establish that 12 year old Prue rides a single speed bike and cruises the new used bins at the record store- very important for aesthetic. Also, it is probably a good thing the crows took the baby because eventually she was going to do some damage hauling him around in a flippin' red wagon tied to her bike ...more
Susan
Jun 17, 2015 rated it really liked it
I listened to this, which may have affected my feelings about it. I found it a thoroughly delightful fantasy adventure book.
Deanna
Oct 24, 2011 rated it really liked it
Prue watches horrified as her little brother is carried away by crows. Her quest to get him back leads her into the Impassable Wilderness which is a world all of its own located in the heart of Portland Oregon. Nobody is supposed to be able to penetrate the borders of this strange world, however, Prue finds herself amidst its inhabitants and their longstanding conflicts.
Written by the lead singer of the Decemberists, there is also a cool soundtrack designed to accompany the book, which can be fo
...more
Katieb (MundieMoms)
Wildwood is a thrilling new fairytale that has the same charm and appeal of the classic fairytales I grew up with. This is absolutely one of my most favorite MG reads for 2011! It's a story that can be read as a family, individually or in a classroom, as there are so many elements that can be openly discussed. Wildwood is a book I highly recommend picking up. I'm eagerly awaiting to read more of this series.


You can read the rest of my 5 star review here http://mundiekids.blogspot.com/2011/0...
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Anna
Jul 06, 2014 rated it liked it
This book is a long middle-grade book. I picked it up once, did not get far, and had to start it again. It has a Narnia-like feeling on the edge of present-day Portland. It had some interesting plot twists, but at times the pacing was slow and hard to get through. Overall a good story, but not a page turner for me.
Erin
Feb 19, 2013 rated it liked it
Shelves: ya, junior-fiction
3.5 Nearly charmed the pants off me with its murder of crows and talking animals. I liked the elevated language though some will find it disgustingly hipsterish and contrived.
Dest
Dec 22, 2011 rated it it was ok
Mostly, I thought it was too long, but I also thought it was too twee and derivative. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Amanda Plummer and I thought she was purposely trying to put the emphasis in weird places in sentences, which just compounded my annoyance with the book overall.

Wildwood gets two stars instead of just one because it's serviceable. If a kid really wanted a long fantasy similar to C.S. Lewis, I wouldn't tell him NOT to read this.
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Monica
Oct 27, 2011 rated it it was ok
Shelves: childrensbooks
The pictures were extraordinary, but it felt like it was a children's book written for adults (and badly). The pacing was too slow, there was way too much unnecessary detail and what was with all these groups in the Portlandia woods with distinctly ethnic names and accents? Haven't they existed in a tiny area in the western United States for hundreds of years? ...more
Travis
Feb 15, 2014 rated it really liked it
Shelves: fantasy, middle-grade
A fine homage to the pantheon of girl-whisked-away-to-other-worlds-on-adventure tales: Prue McKeel would do Lucy Pevensie, Wendy Darling, and Dorothy Gale proud.
Shannon
May 12, 2011 marked it as to-read
Monica Edinger
May 14, 2011 rated it liked it
Kris Springer
Sep 01, 2011 marked it as to-read
Barbara
Oct 09, 2011 rated it liked it
Ellen
Oct 11, 2011 rated it really liked it
Aly
Nov 06, 2011 rated it liked it
Katharine
Nov 11, 2011 rated it liked it
Jess
Dec 20, 2011 rated it liked it
Shelves: juv, fantasy
Carah
Jan 14, 2012 marked it as to-read
Cheryl Meibos
Apr 05, 2012 rated it it was ok
Celeste
Jun 20, 2012 rated it really liked it
CLM
Nov 07, 2012 marked it as to-read
Shelves: fantasy, nephews
V C
Mar 09, 2013 rated it liked it
Shelves: childrens
Ryan
May 11, 2013 marked it as to-read
Astrid Lim
Oct 23, 2013 marked it as wishlist
Melody
Apr 21, 2014 rated it it was ok
Shelves: jfic
Natane
Oct 10, 2015 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Colleen
Sep 26, 2019 marked it as to-read
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