Summary: The death of the foxes' ruling oracle, Scythe, bodes ill for the Wraith Mice around Darkwoods and their allies near and far. With the change in leadership, all sides know their uncertain relationship with the foxes will, too soon, erupt into a vicious war. Possessing the ability to melt in... more

Summary: The death of the foxes' ruling oracle, Scythe, bodes ill for the Wraith Mice around Darkwoods and their allies near and far. With the change in leadership, all sides know their uncertain relationship with the foxes will, too soon, erupt into a vicious war. Possessing the ability to melt into the darkness and renowned in warfare, the Wraith Mice rally the squirrel tribes, Ranger Mice, and others to defend their territory—and their very lives. A young one among them, Princess Zuryzel understands the gravity of the situation and rises fearlessly to the challenges of the ruthless invaders. Possessing the traits of a natural leader and wise beyond her years, Zuryzel knows she must follow the difficult path before her. But can she overcome the challenges in time to defeat the hated foxes?

The death of Oracle Scythe would be felt all across the land. Scythe was the one Oracle of the Darkwoods Foxes that was against warring with the other creatures in the surrounding area of the Darkwoods. With Scythe gone, the other Foxes had no more opposition to their plans of conquering all of t... more

The death of Oracle Scythe would be felt all across the land. Scythe was the one Oracle of the Darkwoods Foxes that was against warring with the other creatures in the surrounding area of the Darkwoods. With Scythe gone, the other Foxes had no more opposition to their plans of conquering all of the area, so they started their campaign to take control. Not knowing the resistance they would encounter along the way. Of all the creatures, the Wraith Mice with their magical abilities and their determined Princess Zuryzel would be the toughest to get past. Along with the other talents she possessed, Princess Zuryzel has the ability to stand as a leader for all of the animals that are put in danger by the Foxes. **** Written by a seventeen year old, what a great accomplishment at such a young age. The use of the animals as the characters made visualizing each of them easy. Learning each of the tribes strengths and each person, or more to the point, characters special abilities made for an interesting adventure in itself. Learning their names and tribes and relations within the tribes was a bit laborious at first. Once the adventure started it was just as easy to forget who and what they were than it was to continue to struggle to remember it all. There was just so many characters, to many often unnecessary characters and sometimes to many details that seemed more of a tangent than important to the storyline. I had a difficult time getting into the story because of the amount of characters, but after I stopped trying to figure out how they all connected, it got a little better. The adventure and suspense of the story was interesting, the use of the animal tribes or clans made this one unique and the storytelling ability to put it all together was fairly well done.

In this fantasy epic, mice, foxes, squirrels, and other land and sea creatures come alive in author Marta Stahlfeld’s debut. Darkwoods is forever changed when Scythe, the ruling oracle of the foxes, dies, causing feuds between the tribes. With the oracle gone, the animals wonder how the foxes wil... more

In this fantasy epic, mice, foxes, squirrels, and other land and sea creatures come alive in author Marta Stahlfeld’s debut. Darkwoods is forever changed when Scythe, the ruling oracle of the foxes, dies, causing feuds between the tribes. With the oracle gone, the animals wonder how the foxes will react, everyone agree that a bloody war will occur. The Wraith Mice, who can turn invisible, gather the squirrel, the Ranger Mice who guard the north border, the sea creatures, and the other tribes of Earth to help defend their land. A young wraith mouse, Princess Zuryzel, carries magical powers, and she is the next to become the a great leader, but can she overcome all odds and defeat the foxes. The Darkwoods was an interesting, fun read in the tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. Within reading the first chapter, you will realize that the author has a creative and unique imagination. I was hooked into the book, I instantly forgot that the characters were animals. The main character Zuryzel is a strong-willed, and every reader, young and old, can relate to her. I recommend the book to everyone.