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WILDOAK

C.C. Harrington

wildoak
When the fates of a snow leopard, a child, and an ancient forest collide, the unimaginable can happen. Perfect for fans of Pax and The One and Only Ivan.
Maggie Stephens's stutter makes school especially hard. She will do almost anything to avoid speaking in class or calling attention to herself. So when her unsympathetic father threatens to send her away for so-called "treatment," she reluctantly agrees to her mother's intervention plan: a few weeks in the fresh air of Wildoak Forest, visiting a grandfather she hardly knows. It is there, in an extraordinary twist of fate, that she encounters an abandoned snow leopard cub, an exotic gift to a wealthy Londoner that proved too wild to domesticate. But once the cub's presence is discovered by others, danger follows, and Maggie soon realizes that time is running out, not only for the leopard, but for herself and the forest as well. ? ?Told in alternating voices, Wildoak shimmers with beauty, compassion, and unforgettable storytelling as it explores the delicate interconnectedness of the human, animal, and natural worlds.

Drawings by Diana Sudyka.
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Published 2022-09-01 by Scholastic

Comments

WILDOAK is one of those novels that makes us believe the world may well be as mysterious and as lovely and as possible as we had hoped. --Gary D. Schmidt, author of Just Like That and the Newberry Honor Book, The Wednesday Wars

A September/October 2022 Kids Indie Next list selection. Read more...

UK: Chicken House; Italian: Il Castoro; France: Editions Milan; Turkish: Beyaz Balina;

Author introducing WILDOAK on Scholastic's social media channels. Read more...

Amazon's Best Books of 2022. Read more...

C.C. Harrington talked with Publishers Weekly about WILDOAK and her journey to becoming a writer Read more...

Reads like a classic. I loved it! -- Pam Munoz Ryan, author of the bestsellers Esperanza Rising and the Newberry Honor Book, Echo

Themes of compassion and conservation form the heartbeat of Harrington's eloquent 1963 England-set debut...Both character arcs sparkle with life thanks to Harrington's poignant, immersive prose. Maggie's work to speak in defense of Rumpus and Wildoak resounds with realism, building to a nuanced and empowering ending that reverberates with foresight. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review Read more...

[...[ Tugs on ethical sensibilities and heartstrings with equal strength. -- Kirkus, starred review Read more...

A well-told journey of finding one's voice with the help of a beautiful snow leopard. -- Vince Vawter, author of Paperboy, a Newbery Honor book

C.C. Harrington answered some questions about her newest title, WILDOAK, for Kirkus Reviews. Read more...

How Do Animals Make Sense of the World? ... Harrington's depiction of these wild, wondrous woods is masterful, and she deftly illustrates how her two very different protagonists perceive it. Read more...

In Maggie, C.C. Harrington has created a complex and nuanced protagonist. It is rare to encounter a character whose stutter is not portrayed as an obstacle to be overcome, but instead is an important part of her that is embraced and celebrated. Maggie is a relatable heroine who we can emphasize with and be inspired by as we follow her trajectory from a place of pain and heartache to one of self-realization and fierce independence. Throughout it all, she stutters. Her stutter is part of who she is, but it does not define or limit her. We need more characters like Maggie. -- Taro Alexander, founder of SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young

This is an ambitious novel, with multiple layers. But at its heart is a simple story of the transformative bond between child and animal. It is one of the oldest motifs of children's fiction---written by a bewitching new voice. – The Daily Telegraph, starred review

American Library Association's Schneider Family Book Award in the category of middle garade fiction.