This book absolutely blew me away! Based on Eastern European mythology, The Wind Child follows Mara - the daughter of a human and a goddess (daughter of the wind god Stribog) as she is faced with her father becoming fatally ill, and how she copes with that - a very human story intertwined with mythological beings who guide (and potentially misguide) Mara.

From the very first chapter, I was hooked! I think that this is a great book for children and adults, at it's heart it is a children's book, but simultaneously it doesn't mince words and felt very suitable for an older audience as I read it. I would absolutely recommend The Wind Child, and would be thrilled if Houston decided to expand the world with a sequel or companion novel following Mara and Torniv's future adventures.

Thank you to UCLan Publishing for the ARC! I loved this so much. It was beautiful, perfect for middle grade, and was full of magical, mythological world-building. There was something really beautiful and soothing about reading it. Mara and Torniv's friendship was one of my favourite parts of the book. It felt very genuine and warm. The messages about grief and loss made it bittersweet, but I absolutely adored this book and couldn't recommend it enough. I absolutely will be trying to get my hands on a hard copy!!!

I'm not entirely sure what I expected when I picked up this book, but I certainly didn't expect the emotional rollercoaster I got.

At the start of <The Wind Child Mara is living in the House of Winds with her mother's family who are literal gods. Mara, who is half human, is acutely aware that she does not belong there. Zevena's people are cold and magical, and Mara is neither. Her father, Yaris, is human; he is her favourite parent and they have a wonderful relationship, but he is dying. It's decided (by Zevena's family) that they will travel to the human realm so that he can be amongst his own people.

Zevena is a cold mother. She's not affectionate to Mara, she's very standoffish and she makes it perfectly clear that she doesn't want to go to the human realm with her daughter: she thinks Mara doesn't need her. The relationship between Zevena and her husband's family is dreadful: they don't want her there any more than she wants to be there. Yaris's mother is smothering and over-familiar which is hard for Mara to adjust to. She means well, but I found her controlling and struggled to warm to her. It's difficult for everyone, but it's Mara I felt sorry for. Even when her father is dying, their differences are what's taking the centre stage. I just wanted to hug her.
When Yaris dies, we see how it hurts Mara and how she looks for any way she can for it not to be true. I loved the folklore in this part of the book; I am oddly fascinated by how different cultures approach death and the concept of an afterlife, and this was one I was not familiar with. In Slavic folklore, after death the soul travels to Navia; it takes forty days and when it arrives there, the soul splits, with the mortal part moving on to rest and the root soul travelling up the Veeray tree to be reborn into a new life. It's a beautiful idea, but Mara isn't happy with that and sets out to stop her father's soul from reaching Navia so that he can come back to her.

Torniv from the village goes with her. I loved their building friendship and the way they worked together even though Torniv thought she was doing the wrong thing. Along the way they meet various characters who want to prevent Mara from getting to Navia, including members of her mother's family, and my personal favourite Heidash who is a cheeky, tricksy little creature. Torniv gains the ability to turn into a bear. In another situation, it would be a great, fun adventure, but we are reminded constantly that Yaris's soul is getting closer and closer to the end (I loved the daily updates on what each day meant for the travelling soul). It is tense, and even though I knew it was wrong I wanted Mara to success.

When it came, the ending was unexpected, heart-breaking and beautiful. I loved Mara's development and this was the perfect ending to a stunning story.

Twelve-year-old Mara comes from the god of the wind on her mother's side, but her magical lineage can't save her ailing father from passing away after she returns with him and her mother to the village where he grew up. While his health declines, Mara gets to know her human family and other children in the village, making friends with the loyal Torniv. Once her father dies, Mara vows to bring him back by rescuing him from Navia, the land of the dead. Torniv joins her on a journey filled with magic, deception, gods, mythological creatures, lots of danger, and hard truths she would rather not face.

The Wind Child brought me back to many of the things I loved in different fairy tales and fables I read growing up. I loved the whimsy and danger involved in the quest, getting to know fickle gods and creatures from Slavic mythology, and watching Mara overcome each challenge, oftentimes more by being clever than through any magical means. I enjoyed her friendship with Torniv and the way the two of them faced each challenge and strain on their friendship without giving up on each other.

The world of the story is richly populated with human and magical characters who have distinct personalities that were all fun to get to know. I loved the variety of settings and challenges Mara and Torniv faced, including the ultimate decision she makes at the end, which sets us up for another Mara and Torniv adventure. I'd definitely read more!

While this book did take me quite a while to fully become invested in, I did end up really enjoying the different mythical creatures from Russian folklore.
However, from my own experience working in children's bookselling I think this book would be more suited to an older audience than middle grade.

Subject matter can be quite dark but also the writing style didn't really suit the 8-12 years range in my opinion.
It reminded me a lot of The Bear in the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.
Even though the protagonist in that series is a child for a portion of the books it's still written for an adult audience.
It did have some important themes such as friendship and family, especially dealing with the unfairness of grief for a child at the death of a family member. But part of me still feels like this story would suit a more mature middle grade -teenage audience.
3.5/5

The Wind Child is a fantastic book full of Slavic gods, goddesses and monsters. The book covers relationships with family members, friendships being developed, and also grief.

We join Mara who is part human, but also is the granddaughter of the God of Winter Winds. She goes on a quest with her friend Torniv to bring her father back from the dead. In this quest she comes up against gods and goddesses, and some challenges along the way.

An absolutely beautifully written book. I loved the mythology in the book, really liked the characters. Would highly recommend - and hope there's a sequel coming!

A beautiful adventure in a whole new realm of mythology for me. Mara is a brave and loving girl who just wants her Da back. A wonderful exploration of childhood grief and coming to terms with the death of a parent.

This book was such a lovely read, there was something so soothing about reading it. The writing style is good and will be perfect for Middle Grade readers. I think the narrative dealt perfectly with the theme of grief and will be good for younger readers to understand how to deal with grief. The friendship between Mara and Torniv was beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed watching their friendship develop and unfold throughout their journey. There was a lot to unpack in terms of self-sacrifice in the book and I think it shows how one must sacrifice things for the greater good in a way that younger readers will be able to relay into their own lives. The use of magic made the message of the novel easier to digest for younger readers and will hopefully have a lasting impact on them.
The ending of the book was perfect for the potential of a sequel however it works as a standalone as well. The characters were loveable and enjoyable to read and the narrative itself was fast paced and will be enjoyable for young readers. Despite the desired target audience, I didn't find the language too simplistic or patronising and older readers or parents may also be able to appreciate the narrative of the book.
I was grateful for the list of gods/goddesses and creatures at the start of the book as well as the glossary at the back as these were very handy when reading the more obscure terminology.
It was refreshing to read such a different culture than those which are normally written and it made the book even more unique.

THE WIND CHILD is a short, bittersweet little book full of Slavic/pre-Christian Polish mythology. There's a cast of gods and nature spirits who twine through these pages, and a trickster heroine who's going to get her father back no matter what.

And yes, bittersweet is a very deliberate choice. It's also a book about grief and trying to solve the issue of loss/not letting go. I wasn't sure where the ending would go (would she achieve her goal of getting her father back? Would she not?) but I loved the way it ended. It felt so much more meaningful with that bittersweetness, and the choice presented to Mara that drove home the cost behind her desire.

I loved exploring a mythology I wasn't familiar with, all these new characters to meet, who had their own caprices and blind spots. It was learning and meeting new faces every time, unlike more commonly published mythology (Greek, Roman) where you know the basic facets of the gods already. This leant for more surprise and wonder. Fiction should make you want to know more, in my opinion - be it about the characters or the stories behind the book. And this did.

The title page of the eARC seems to imply there should be illustrations ("Illustrated by Alexis Snell" under the title.) However, there are no illustrations in the file - though, frankly, 99% of the time that images are included in an eARC, everything goes horribly wrong, so it was nice to have a readable document! Given Alexis Snell was involved in the gorgeous cover, if her illustrations are also inside, then it will doubtless be beautiful.

The ending feels like it's setting up a possibility of a sequel. The original deal announcement for this book (as far as I can tell) was only for one book, so hopefully it sells well enough to garner a sequel.

A beautiful story about grief, friendship, and adventure. The folktale elements felt both magical and realistic, they were not cheesy or over the top and added to the atmosphere of this gripping cold landscape.

Over all 3.75 stars my only issue being that the ending felt rather abrupt and there could have been more detail about the reactions to the longer than anticipated journey.

Atmospheric and wonderful.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Requested this book as it just screams out to me. I adore polar fantasies, Slavic mythology, Sophie Anderson's writing and this one just screamed all of those things to me. And it didn't disappoint. This book was just a joy from the first page and one that I think that those who love the thing I just mentioned would enjoy. It is packed with adventure and exceptionally head-strong characters with Mara and Torniv being determined to succeed in their quests which include lots of different figures from Slavic mythology. A wonderful book.

Thank you for the arc. Can't wait to have the finished copy in my hands.

This was such a good read and a perfect book for middle graders to immerse themselves in reading, mythology and folklore. It has such a good storyline, great writing and well developed characters and I loved the mythology elements as I knew absolutely nothing about slavic mythology/folklore before reading this book. I loved it

This is such an entirely wonderful book. Not only is it an immersive story full of great characters, but I learned a lot about Slavic mythology along the way – and I love learning new things. This is a rather short middle grade fantasy adventure, which makes it perfect for young readers, and especially reluctant readers as well. It is addictive – I got stuck into it so much that I could not stop reading until I was done, which for me, is one of the crucial elements of a great children’s book. I found this to be an uncontested five star read – the only thing I could imagine being improved about it is to add some interior illustrations, which is more of a publishing thing rather than a criticism of the book itself, added value, not something that detracts from it now.

One of the things I loved most about The Wind Child is the emotional impact the story had on me. Mara sets out on this grand adventure to try and achieve the impossible, to try and get her recently deceased father back from the afterlife. The ending of the story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming and is the best possible way the book could have resolved. It had me crying in the best possible way (though that may have been connected to reading a dead parent book around the ten year anniversary of my mum’s passing as well, making me more emotionally susceptible to the topic).

Mara and her friend Torniv are fantastic characters. They are not all-powerful, but they are stubborn and they don’t accept no for an answer, and they are determined to succeed. It was a joy to follow them on part of their story, and I wish that we got to spend more time with them. I loved The Wind Child just as much as Gabriela’s adult debut, The Second Bell, and if you have a child in your life, I highly recommend you get them a copy, and either read it with them, or let them read it while you read Gabriela’s other book. She truly is a writer to look out for, and one that I think will go far.

This is a book full of Slavic gods and monsters and a really enjoyable read - perfect for Middle Grade.
At its heart there is a story of the value of friendship and the sacrifices we make for those we love.

Mara is the grand-daughter of Striborg, the god of the Winter Wind. Her mother is Striborg's daughter but her father is human and Mara has inherited his qualities rather than her mother's. She possesses no magic. At the start of the story they return to her father's home as he is dying.

When her father dies, Mara has 40 days to get her father back as it takes that length of time for the dead to reach Navia where the soul will divide and enter the heart of a new-born. What I particularly loved was that at the beginning of each chapter we are told what the soul is feeling on its 40 day journey to Navia.

It is unheard of for a soul to be taken back from Navia and it is something that no human would ever be able to achieve but Mara puts her faith into the fact that she must have some of Stribog's blood somewhere, that she is not entirely human. On her journey she is joined by Torniv, a boy who feels an outsider. Together they battle against gods and monsters.

This is a story of love, endurance, adventure. A perfect read.