Ravenous

Gr 5–8—Greta was among Bryre's stolen girls, sent to neighboring Belladoma to appease the perpetually ravenous sea monster called Sonzeeki, first introduced in Monstrous (HarperCollins, 2015). Though Belladoma's greedy king was defeated as soon as evil wizard Barnabas fell, mercenaries have taken over and are using magic for equally avaricious and malicious purposes. The people of the seaside city are still starving, which is why Bryne's good King Oliver plans to send aid to Belladoma, much to Greta's dismay. Greta decides that she and her brother Hans should leave Bryre. But before they can go, Hans disappears, snatched by a beautiful but wicked witch who resides in a feathered cottage that travels on long, clawed chicken legs. To save her brother, Greta steals the map that holds the key to find the cornucopia, an ancient magical item that, as the witch and Greta learn, the mercenaries seek. When Greta is again jailed in Belladoma, miserable memories of her time there flood back, but it is the start of the adventure that allows her to thwart greed, use magic wisely, and uncover the truth about Belladoma and her own family. Her actions also start recovery for the dying city and its newly discovered royal lineage. Greta narrates the story in present tense so that readers make realizations as Greta does. Elements of folktales—Baba Yaga's house and a well-known sibling pair—are evident throughout. While it is not critical to read the first book, it certainly clarifies the relationship among characters and the use of magic.