Wing and Claw: Forest of Wonders

Gr 4–7—Park's newest foray into fiction is a switch from the historical into the fantastical. In this, the first installment in a trilogy, readers meet Raffa Santana. The young teen protagonist is following in his parents' footsteps and taking on the challenges of apothecary work. Raffa has a deeply profound intuition when it comes to botanical/chemical work. His extreme ability leads him to form uniquely deep relationships with special friends and creatures from the Forest of Wonder. The story is written with skill and well paced. The real beauty in Park's work lies in the relationship she creates between Raffa and Echo the bat. The story contains some high-intensity action scenes that will hook readers. The world-building is intensive; there is clearly a multilayered history and culture underlying the richly detailed setting. This story would be great as a way to create some interest and engagement with students studying chemistry or earth science.