Review: Whichwood by Teherah Mafi

Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.   This is out November 14, 2017.  Thank you to Dutton Books, Penguin Publishing and Edelweiss for providing me with an advanced copy for review.

I really enjoyed this. I really love Mafi's writing style. It is very poetic, and I love the way she tells the story as if she were friends with the characters and was telling the story of their lives. I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but I was so glad to see Alice and Oliver back from Furthermore. If you haven't read Furthermore, you should, but I love that Mafi has written the- story in such a way that she refers back to Alice and Oliver's previous adventures as if you haven't read them before. I LOVE that this book stands on its own two feet and there are enough references to the first book that you don't have to read it to know what's going on. Reading Furthermore certainly helps, but it isn't required.

This was pretty dark. I wouldn't want my 4th grader reading this, I think the imagery is pretty graphic and could be a little scary for younger readers, but then again each reader has their tolerances. As a parent I don't think I'd let my 10 year old read this, I'd wait a bit, maybe the 13+ crowd would be more appropriate.  I know what scares my kids, and the imagery I think would be too much for my young reader, then again I know I was reading pretty dark graphic stuff at a young age.  My parents didn't really censor what I read, only what I watched on TV. The imagery didn't bother me, but I can see how it would disturb some. Futhermore on the other hand would be fine for the 9-12 reader crowd. It was a tad dark and a bit weird, but not scary.  I would let my 4th grader read Futhermore no problem.

The main character, Laylee, is a Mordeshoor, kind of like a magical undertaker. She is responsible for washing the bodies of the dead, her magic makes this process much more reverent than it sounds. The people of Whichwood are very superstitious and don't really understand or respect Laylee or what she and her family have done for them and their loved ones who have passed. The people of the town really take advantage of 13 year old Laylee, not paying her for her work and treating her as an outcast. Laylee is overworked, lonely, tired, when our friends Alice and Oliver enter the story. Alice is tasked with helping Laylee, she doesn't know how or what to do, but she know's something is very wrong with the young Mordeshoor. Oliver is along to help Alice, even though he's not along, but as we learned in the previous book, they never really follow the rules. Laylee doesn't really warm to Alice and Oliver, and she doesn't really feel as if she needs help or as if anything is wrong in her depressing situation. We are also introduced to Laylee's neighbor and would be friend Ben. Ben has seen Laylee deteriorate over time and joins Alice and Oliver in their quest to help Laylee.  They desperately try to save Laylee from whatever is wrong, though it takes them a while to figure out how to really help her.  In the end I found their antics quite entertaining.

I really loved the way the story tackled self-worth, loneliness, decision making, among other things. I really loved the messages within the strange tale and overall really loved this story.