By Catherine Fisher
Published by Candlewick Press, September, 2020
Son's Review
Reaction:
It was a really good story. My favorite part in the story was the first time she saw the tall, skinny, man in black. It was so mysterious and I like mysterious things.
Favorite character:
The Clockwork Crow. I just liked the clockwork crow. Part of it is how he's like me, how he's always a tiny bit cranky. There's different kinds of crankys. The cranky I'm usually in is a good kind of cranky. Like a good kind of cranky is a way of describing feeling just "blah." Since you're not exactly cranky. Blah sometimes means a little bit tired, but not like tired in a "you gotta take a nap or sleep" way. Like you want to sit on the couch and read or go to the library and pick up a big stack of books and sit on the couch with a big stack of books. Right now I'm the kind of blah where I want to pick up a big stack of books from the library or at least go to the library.
Most important thing to know:
This is what makes the book unique: There are snow globes in it. Period.
Prediction:
I think the Clockwork Crow already got changed back into a human [in the next book] because it [the next book] is a little bit after that [the ending of the first book]. Maybe around one week?
Mom's Review
The Clockwork Crow is a magical rescue adventure to save a kidnapped individual being held by the Fae. The rescuer? Seren, an orphaned girl. Who is imprisoned? Tomos, the son of Seren's godfather. And so we have an extraordinary young woman as our protagonist. (Remember, I'm looking for women in history, lit, and myth this year!) Seren exhibits courage, wisdom, compassion, and fortitude like the heroines of traditional literature from around the globe. She is a thoroughly enjoyable protagonist to join on her journey from orphanage to mysterious manor to Faerie and home.
The Clockwork Crow is billed as an ideal magical, steampunk winter read, but I disagree slightly. T and I couldn't get enough, and it is springtime. I will admit that it would be extra cozy to read with a snowstorm raging outside as such storms feature both in the disappearance of Tomos and the arrival of the crow, albeit in pieces. Readers meet Seren in a train station as she waits to travel to her new home in Scotland with her godfather. It is at the train station that she inadvertently comes into possession of the crow. Out of boredom at her new home, which is empty save for three caretakers, she assembles the crow, which reveals itself to be an enchanted prince. With the help of the crow, Seren resolves to determine the location of Tomos, whom no one in the house or village will discuss.
Fisher crafts a magical, complex tale that so completely envelops the readers that leaving the text feels like physically transitioning between worlds. Fisher's manor and village, characters and and mysteries, and land of Faerie leave nothing wanting. The plot moves at a comfortable pace for a read-aloud, and the sentence structure lends itself well to oral storytelling. Seren in The Clockwork Crow truly is reminiscent of the wise women and brave girls in global mythologies. Building on this long history, Fisher constructs events, settings, and characters to create an imperfect and relatable figure and a story so rich that it takes the reader just the tiniest stretch of imagination to believe everything is real. Leaving Fisher's Scotland and Plas-y-Fran Manor was not done willingly. All I can say is that T has been asking repeatedly when we can start reading the next book.
Note: A review copy was provided upon request for the purpose of an honest review. All thoughts are our own.
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