Wildwood

By: Ellis Carson, Colin Meloy

Narrated by: Amanda Plummer

Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. At least until her brother is abducted by a murder of crows and taken to the Impassable Wilderness, a dense, tangled forest on the edge of Portland. No one’s ever gone in – or at least returned to tell of it.

So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend, Curtis, deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval - a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much greater, as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

Wildwood is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic that juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Original and fresh yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel could have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his inventive and fantastic storytelling as the lead singer of the Decemberists. Wildwood is truly a new classic for the 21st century.

©2011 Unadoptable Books LLC (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

The narration is such a let down

To be honest we only got 5 minutes into this book and had to shut it off. My kids said they just couldn’t even get an idea of who was talking. The narrator does this book no justice. We literally just finished The Whiz Mob and Grenadine kid and that narration puts every other narration to shame. Can’t you get Bronson Pinchot to do this book? He’s amazing.
I’m just going to have to buy this one - but what a shame....

Loved it and loved Amanda Plummer's performance!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Wildwood?

The humor, imagination, and complexity of the story

Which character – as performed by Amanda Plummer – was your favorite?

I disagree with the other reviewers who found fault with her performance. I felt her narration and character voices were varied and nuanced. I'm disappointed she wasn't the reader for Under Wildwood.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Poor narrator

Good story but often distracted by the narrator. Often read statements as questions and had a strange baby-like voice for dramatic or action parts of the story

Narrator doesn't do story justice

The whispering of the narrator ruins the story. Same with the yelling of the protagonist, who somehow seems to yell. Read the book, don't listen to it.

Distracting narration

If you could sum up Wildwood in three words, what would they be?

Fantastical, lyrical, gripping

What did you like best about this story?

The concept of another world nestled in reality

What didn’t you like about Amanda Plummer’s performance?

Way too distracting; her voice has an odd quality to it that I can see might be considered a match for this uniqu tale but I found it to detract from the story as I found myself thinking about her voice and wondering why she made certain inflection choices rather than the story she was telling.

Into the wildwood

When twelve-year-old Prue McKeel???s baby brother is abducted by crows and taken into the Impassable Wilderness outside Portland, Oregon, an adventure begins that takes Prue and her classmate and sometimes friend Curtis into the forest of Wildwood. Prue and Curtis are separated almost immediately upon entering the wood: Prue meets Richard, the shotgun carrying Post Master General, driving his mail van, while Curtis is abducted by coyote soldiers wearing civil war garb and carrying sabers.
Separately, Prue and Curtis meet a range of humans and talking birds and animals. Divided into factions, the people and creatures of Wildwood work to either befriend or manipulate Prue and Curtis. Prue follows the advice of Owl Rex, the Prince of birds, and seeks out the Mystics, the oddly Zen wise-ones of the forest, who might be able to help Prue find her baby brother Mac. Curtis, however, is taken by the coyote soldiers to the beautiful Alexandra, the Dowager Governess of Wildwood. It is Alexandra who is at the centre of Mac???s abduction and is the reason Prue is able to enter Wildwood in the first place.
Wikipedia compares Meloy???s Wildwood to Tolkien???s Middle-Earth, but don???t pay attention. This is a secondary world fantasy, and it is populated with talking birds and animals, but it???s in no way Tolkienesque. Not even C. S. Lewis uses eighteenth-century style coyote riflemen and cannoneers. The book is a good read and the characters engaging. If anything, it is more like Brian Jacques??? Redwall books than it is like Tolkien or Lewis.
With the narrative evenly divided between Prue and Curtis, the book rolls along, although it takes a while for the true nature of Wildwood and Prue???s presence there to become clear. Like Prue, you have to wait for it, but it is worth the wait. The book does try to be political, epic, and contemporary all at once. It mostly works. If you want something in a similar vein, try The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. These books are perhaps the beginning of something new in American children???s fantasy.
Four stars of five for Meloy???s Wildwood. Four stars as well for Amanda Plummer???s reading of the book. Plummer offers a good performance with a challenging cast of characters, but she has trouble keeping her accents in order. Nonetheless, a good pick for any age.

Better voice casting would help.

This story is a cross between the Chronicles of Narnia, Willow, The Labyrinth and Rapunzel. I liked the characters, and the storyline. It flowed pretty nicely but the narrator's voice was at best it wore on my nerve and the cadence seemed off.

Riveting story, very well told.

My children and I very much enjoyed reading the printed copy in the evenings before bed and listening to the Audible version while riding in the car. Narnian-like fantasy world with incredible and unique characters. Creative story-telling. Most certainly kept our interests and lured us back for more.

Narrator ruins it for us

We loved reading this book. However, we are returning the audible purchase because the narrator’s sing-song baby-talk voice makes listening to this lovely story unenjoyable.

Untapped potential

Good setting and characters but I struggled to get through it at times. With that said, I will still try the next book and see if his sophomore effort gets going a little faster