by McKenzie Catron
publisher’s synopsis
Are you afraid of the bogeyman?
Eighteen-year-old Sparrow can’t remember a time when she wasn’t. And neither can her mother—or the trolls, imps, gnomes, and faeries who all live in the Glade and call it home. Though Sparrow’s weak heart keeps her wheelchair bound, she and her mother have dedicated their lives to protecting the Glade, especially from the worst bogeyman of them all: the skin-stealing, poison-ingesting witch called Black Annis.
But one night, Sparrow makes a terrible mistake, and everything she once held dear is taken from her. The Glade is no longer a sanctuary, and the only way Sparrow can save her mother and her friends is to journey out into a monster-ridden world that wasn’t made for her or her wheelchair. Joined by her half-goblin friend, Rush, Sparrow will have to confront her fears before the ones they love are lost forever.
A Daughter of the Trolls will appeal to fans of European folklore and the darker Grimm Brother’s fairytales. This is a spine-tingling young adult fantasy adventure about evil witches, monsters, and the imperfect heroes who face them all. You’ll join Sparrow and her faerie friends on a life changing journey where they face not only their outer demons, but their inner ones as well.
Some thoughts:
– Catron is right when she talks about disability rep missing in books, especially in fantasy. I don’t think I’ve read a fantasy novel before with a MC who uses a wheelchair before, and it provided a unique perspective.
-Hazel was a fun character. I don’t want to say more though and give away some of the surprises. 🙂
-The writing felt a little… simple. It was missing the level of complexity that’s in most YA books, and it took me a while to get into. The travel section of the Second Half also got a tad long.
-I did see the twist at the ending/the Pooka’s prophecy coming. But that didn’t ruin anything or make it disappointing.
Cautions: light romance; semi-graphic violence; semi-graphic descriptions/unsettling images
Hailey Huntington 
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