Welcome to Litsy!

This novella was an absolute delight—no surprise there since pretty much everything Kingfisher writes is a delight. Oliver is a minor mage, he only knows three spells, but his village sends him on a quest to find rain & bring it back to their village anyway. Off he goes...meeting cannibal ghouls, a boy who makes harps out of bones, and at least one murderer along the way. Plenty of laugh out loud moments, as always, and a really fun read.

The best thing about jet lag and waking up at 3am is bonus reading time! Enjoying this one so far!

It was the bit about the elemental that made me pick up this novella.

The story has very little to do with the said elemental, but it's a story of magic all the same. What the mage does with the magic matters more than the amount of magical knowledge he actually possesses.

There's an armadillo in this one and he is delightful.

⭐: 4.5

This is a really lovely novella. The author stated at the end that she wrote it always intending it to be a children's book even as her publishers told her it was not. I would happily give this book to an 10+ child I think that the messages with in it are fantastic. Loved it as and adult reader too. Entusiastic pick.

Oliver was 12 and knew three spells. But as the village wizard it was his job to go find the cloud herders and ask them to send rain to his drought-stricken village. He sets out with his sarcastic familiar and a big heart to do the job that needs to be done, learning that in a pinch, just two spells are enough. Clever, funny dialog keeps it lively, and the ending is satisfying enough, though somewhat rushed.

Gosh I love Vernon's writing. Caveat that I did a, '*gasp* it ENDED' reaction -- I had really wanted a rounder conclusion with a post-quest confrontation with Hector, or for Oliver's mom to have a confrontation with Hector, or for Oliver's mom to just get in some speaking lines.

Vernon insists this is a middle-grade book. With the vividly described injuries and deaths and off-page child murder and on-page mob culture forcing...

Ooooo, #releasedayyay!!