Wildwood Imperium (Wildwood Chronicles, 3)

Of course this book is good--it's written by Colin Meloy of The Decemberists. When you get a storytelling English major to write a book, you're going to get a thrilling, intricate tale that doesn't shy away from a good vocabulary, despite being ostensibly for children.

This is the third book in the Wildwood Chronicles Books. They. Are. Fabulous. They are young adult, but I read them aloud to my 9 and 10 year old for read-alouds, so it has been quite a long journey we've shared through these 3 books. They love the books! Some 10 year olds could read them alone, I'm sure, but I like to monitor the words they are exposed to and change or leave a word out if it's inappropriate for their age. It's totally appropriate for teens. The vocabulary in the books is extraordinary and expansive.

The real world of human interaction isn't the black-and-white, good versus evil, stuff of traditional fantasy and fairy tales. We're all at times selfish, impulsive, overly-ambitious individuals. Communally, we can find ourselves prone to xenophobia, protectionism, and exclusivity. Meloy and Ellis have created a world in Wildwood that reflects these complexities. Throughout the trilogy, characters routinely make self-interested decisions and power grabs. Still, none of them is beyond redemption, and many of the characters do exhibit learning and find redemption. There is no real villain in Wildwood, save for the selfishness and short-sightedness that can tempt us all at any time. This is a refreshing departure from so many mythologies, which conveniently draw a line in the sand. Characters choose a side, good or evil, and remain on that side throughout the story. The only drama comes when a token character or two makes a dramatic switch to "the other side" at some point. In Wildwood, characters trample that line, as their concerns for self-interest, family, community, security, and nationalism compete against one another for primacy throughout the trilogy. Most characters in Wildwood "mean well," yet still misstep at some point along the way. Some become quite entrenched in evil actions, though driven by very real (and valid) human emotions and concerns. I think fantasy worlds like Wildwood are increasingly important in our modern, global world. We are often told that people from [INSERT COUNTRY NAME HERE] are [INSERT DISPARAGING TERM HERE], and are therefore not to be trusted. True, some folks in this world do fit the "villain" profile a lot better than others, and we must fight and defend ourselves against them. Wildwood represents this well. However, contrary to the portrayals of our attention-grabbing media, not everyone who is unlike us is against us. Rather, most people around the world have the same concerns - safety, family, community, liberty, and self-realization. Just because a person or group of people is seemingly at odds with us does not make them inherently evil or alien. Wildwood gives us a mythology that reflects this reality, yet does so in such a beautiful, non-preachy way... in other words, Wildwood makes the points of my above post, but does so in a way that is actually FUN to read. TL;DR - The good vs evil construct in fantasy is normally far too simple to accurately reflect the real world. The Wildwood Chronicles addresses this in an engaging world full of complex characters. Five stars!

The best of the trilogy, our heroes pass into adolescent maturity overcoming (barely & with luck), not one, but three increasingly challenging adversaries- the final a supreme force of nature bent on nothing less than the utter devastation of not just Wildwood, but the "Outside" world as well! I caught many well crafted passages reminding me strongly of master storyteller Ray Bradbury in this wonderful book. If you've been following this story from the first book, you won't be disappointed in this final(?) masterpiece!

Thoughts: I read this book about a year and a half ago, before I started reviewing books for my blog, Kid Book Reviewer, and only recently decided to reread it - not because I was freaking out over it or anything, but because I was curious to see what my reaction would be nearly two years later to a book I had deemed decent and had still enjoyed to the fullest. Let me start by saying that this is is no way one of those finales that completely knocks your socks off and more than fulfills the excitement, creativity, imagination, and urgency of the previous books. Wildwood Imperium IS better than Under Wildwood, which I personally didn't care for because of the unsatisfying conclusion-that-didn't-really-feel-like-a-conclusion, but that doesn't mean it lives up to the complete adoration I felt over the first book in the trilogy. That said, I still really enjoyed this book and thought, as I did a year and a half earlier, that it was "decent." The writing became a bit sluggish and slow-paced for me (which is to be slightly expected, since Meloy tends to over-explain everything - it adds to the charm, but not the suspense), although I think Meloy IS an extremely good writer (reminds me of the Doldrums, Phantom Tollbooth, and possibly A Series of Unfortunate Events, actually). The story is engaging, however, and has a multitude of twists that's bound to balance out the slow points in the writing. I loved the inventiveness still squeezed into this book, even though Meloy could've settled with just tying up the loose ends of the previous series, which honestly wouldn't have made the book worthwhile, then. The characters, of course, were all spot-on, although I did wish the Wildwood Bandits had more of a play in this book... All in all, a steady finale that exceeded my expectations because of the slight let-down of Under Wildwood.

Very good condition Amazing finale to the book series

I know this is a series directed to young readers (and I'm most definitely not a young reader) but I found all 3 books delightful. And being from Portland, Oregon it is fun to read about places that are familiar and to imagine a whole other world of magic in the woods.

An incredible series! My son and I loved reading this together aloud. Might be a bit too wordy for younger kids, due to it's impressive word usage, but we read this series between age 10-13 (you could go a little younger) and felt it was a great fit for my son with a wild imagination.

I've really loved all of these books and this one was no different. I won't give any of it away, so I'll just say it's another really enjoyable read. I was a little concerned in the last few pages that it wouldn't be wrapped up in a way that I was satisfied with. I loved all the characters so much I really wanted to know what became of them all. I was not disappointed! Brilliant trilogy:-)

Amei a história e as margens, mas o papel Deus me livre, mais grosso que jornal e parece que está desfazendo também de tão áspero.

Teenage daughter loves it

After I have read the first two novels of this trilogy, I was very curious to the third part en the ending of the story. When I have read this book, I wasn't disappointed. The book has a very unexpected and beautiful end.

Eine bemerkenswerte und rührende Geschichte, die mit diesem Band leider endet. Hoffentlich kommen wir in den Genuss einer weiteren Fortsetzung der schönen Welt von Wildwood.