The Wren Hunt Sings

I recently read The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson (thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA for an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for an honest review).  It is a magical book in a fairly unique setting that made me want to keep reading.

The Wren Hunt is set in modern-day Ireland.  The story starts out with some excitement: every year after Christmas, some boys chase Wren (our heroine) until they catch her, and demand some sort of trinket for her.  Wren doesn’t find this chase amusing, but for some reason, they continue to bully her year after year.

Soon, we find out that the boys that chase her are part of a group of people that her family has been feuding with for generations.  Like in Romeo and Juliet or The Weight of Feathers, Wren’s family is part of the augurs, and the boys that bully her are the judges.  Both judges and augurs have a sort of druidic magic to them.  Wren’s gift allows her to have visions of the future, although sometimes it is difficult to interpret what they mean.

The augur’s magic appears to be fading, and they blame the judges for it.  Wren is sent to take an internship at a business run by the judges, in order to spy on them.  The judges there don’t know that she’s an augur, and if she is found out, it wouldn’t do well for her.

Over the course of this book, she falls in love, finds out some shocking truths about herself, and has to make difficult decisions about her life.  There’s betrayal, and twists, and things aren’t always exactly as they seem.  It all makes for a great story.

Setting

I love how Ireland was used as the setting for this book.  It makes an excellent backdrop for the druidic magic.  The Wren Hunt transports you to a small village in this country.  The town has this small-town feel of a place that kids grow up in and don’t really escape from.  It’s unlike a lot of fantasy book settings, which made it interesting.

Characters

I really liked the characters and relationships portrayed in this book as well.  Although she lost her parents when she was young, Wren is close to the family members she lives with, as well as her childhood friend.  In this book, Wren is growing apart from her family, and I love how Ms. Watson tackles this.  There are also enemies, a growing but sometimes awkward attraction to a boy, and coworkers.

Overall

Will The Wren Hunt make my list of Top Ten Books I Read in 2018?  No, but I’ve read a lot of books this year, and a lot of good books aren’t going to make it onto the list.  This book is a unique book that kept my attention from the beginning until the end.  I definitely recommend it.

The Wren Hunt won’t be available until November 6th, but you can pre-order it now.