
The land hovers in an uneasy truce. The powerful giants live in lush gardens spun from magic woven from human lips. And every day, the world becomes a little colder…
On her own in the frigid winter, Lyriana is determined to get her younger brother Zave to Orphan’s Garden, a half-myth oasis beyond the reach of the giant’s powers. If she fails for too much longer, they might not survive.
Brob is a giant, but he’s no longer welcome among his people, either—he and his family are exiles from the lifesaving gardens, sentenced to a soon-to-be-fatal existence in the cold. Luckily, he has a plan: the garden he built years ago from the frost and pooled magic, an impossibility he’s certain no one else knows about. He certainly doesn’t expect—or want—humans among its trees.
But though Lyriana and Brob are at odds, they may need each other to save the garden that has become both of their home.
Within the opening pages of The Song of Orphan’s Garden, I found myself wondering: where have all the other fantasy novels in verse been? This lush, thoughtful book has the feel of a fairytale while being wholly original, and I truly enjoyed it. I love the way Hewitt uses verse in this book—to convey alternate points of view, to create lyricism, and perhaps most of all to separate the perspectives of Lyriana and Brob that was distinct without becoming jarring. Plus, the entire setting is just cool (no pun intended), the sense of an uneasy peace as palpable through the pages as the unique take on something as set as the seasons. I’ll definitely be looking to read more of Hewitt’s books in the future! I highly recommend The Song of Orphan’s Garden to fans of lyrical middle-grade fantasy books and stories where the setting feels as though it has a character of its own.
Thank you to Feiwel and Friends for the gifted copy! All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
adventure / ages 9+ / fairy tales / fantasy / fiction / friends / in verse / middle grade /
standalone / siblings