Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review Debut author Durham kick-starts his fantasy adventure trilogy with this cracker of an introduction. Rye O'Chanter years old, unbelievably brave, and jaw-droppingly reckless ves with her widowed mother and toddler sister in Village Drowning. The village is under the thumb of the ruthless and self-absorbed Earl Longchance. Years ago the village was terrorized by Bog Noblins, and Longchance claims the credit for driving them away. But legend says that honor goes to the Luck Uglies, a secret (some would even say criminal) society now banished and lost. When a supposedly extinct Bog Noblin turns up in the village, a power struggle ensues between Longchance and a man called Harmless, who holds the secret to the fate of the Luck Uglies. How Rye fits into all this is part of the drama and a lot of the excitement. Durham has created an impressively tactile world peopled with fully realized characters. His writing is strong and balanced, by turns funny and heart-stopping. There are no lulls in the story, which incorporates, in a completely original way, elements that will be familiar to fans of the genre. Antonsson's chapter-opening sketches further light the way. Readers will be sorry to see this bona fide page-turner end, at least until the next volume.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

A sparkling middle-grade fantasy opens a trilogy. Rye O'Chanter is a somewhat clumsy 11-year-old who enjoys hijinks with best friends Quinn and Folly on the roofs and lanes of Village Drowning, a dark, medieval-feeling town. It's run by a nasty, self-absorbed earl and surrounded by bogs that have spawned a legend of Bog Noblins—vile beasts who eat unwary villagers and adorn themselves with necklaces made out of said villagers' feet. Many years earlier, a secret society of protectors named Luck Uglies had fought and vanquished the Bog Noblins, and now, neither monsters nor secret society members exist. Or do they? When a real, not-just-legend, Bog Noblin shows up and begins to terrorize Village Drowning, old fears as well as old secrets are resurrected. Debut author Durham spins a tale of intrigue and adventure peopled with characters so individually full of both goodness and flaws that readers will immediately relate. It is this nuance of character that raises the narrative above the trope of a good-vs.-evil storyline and into richer, more layered territory. Durham combines intelligent writing that does not talk down to the intended audience with an innocent charm—a concoction that is sure to captivate readers and make them thankful that this is Book 1 of a trilogy. Layers, nuance, wit and a thumping good story make this a must-read. (Fantasy. 9-13)

Horn Book

Rye O'Chanter and her friends Quinn and Folly live in Drowning, which is ruled by the tyrannical Earl Longchance, who bans women from reading. When the earl does nothing to protect the villagers from marauding monsters, Drowning's only hope is the Luck Uglies, a notorious outlaw gang--that may or may not exist. Durham's fast-paced narrative and clever characters enhance this humorous and engaging tale.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

A sparkling middle-grade fantasy opens a trilogy. Rye O'Chanter is a somewhat clumsy 11-year-old who enjoys hijinks with best friends Quinn and Folly on the roofs and lanes of Village Drowning, a dark, medieval-feeling town. It's run by a nasty, self-absorbed earl and surrounded by bogs that have spawned a legend of Bog Noblins—vile beasts who eat unwary villagers and adorn themselves with necklaces made out of said villagers' feet. Many years earlier, a secret society of protectors named Luck Uglies had fought and vanquished the Bog Noblins, and now, neither monsters nor secret society members exist. Or do they? When a real, not-just-legend, Bog Noblin shows up and begins to terrorize Village Drowning, old fears as well as old secrets are resurrected. Debut author Durham spins a tale of intrigue and adventure peopled with characters so individually full of both goodness and flaws that readers will immediately relate. It is this nuance of character that raises the narrative above the trope of a good-vs.-evil storyline and into richer, more layered territory. Durham combines intelligent writing that does not talk down to the intended audience with an innocent charm—a concoction that is sure to captivate readers and make them thankful that this is Book 1 of a trilogy. Layers, nuance, wit and a thumping good story make this a must-read. (Fantasy. 9-13)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In Durham's witty fantasy debut, 11-year-old Rye O'Chanter is bent on mischief with her friends Quinn and Folly. They live in Village Drowning, a muddy place haunted by tales of ravenous Bog Noblins, vicious creatures from Beyond the Shale, and criminal Luck Uglies, outlaw robbers long since driven away by the Earl of Longchance, who holds Drowning in an iron grip. Rye's household offers no respite from the peculiarities of the outside world: her mother enforces a cryptic set of House Rules, Rye's pet cat Shady can't possibly be only a cat, and her father's identity remains unknown to her. When a monster from legend and a tattooed man named Harmless appear, Rye aligns with the blind street rat Truitt and the Earl's unpleasant daughter, Malydia, to help the Luck Uglies save Drowning from dangers without and tyranny within. First in a planned trilogy, this adventure staggers slightly under the weight of its thorny plot turns, but is kept aloft by brisk wordplay, a charming heroine, and a provocative blurring of the border between heroism and villainy. Ages 8-12. Author's agent: Michelle Andelman, Regal Literary. (May)

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7 Eleven-year-old Rye and her best friends, Quinn and Folly, are curious about their town and its history. What really lies beyond Village Drowning's walls in the area known as Beyond the Shale? Do the huge, ravenous monsters known as Bog Noblins actually exist? Are there still avengers known as Luck Uglies? The trio tries to find answers in Tam's Tome , a book banned by the Earl. In their quest for knowledge, the children become accidental thieves and must escape from the Angry Poet. Together with help from her friends, Rye uncovers the village's secrets (and those within her own family), including an underground maze that leads from one end of the village to the other. Confrontations with Bog Noblins bring back the banished and much maligned Luck Uglies to defeat the evil creatures and return justice to Drowning. Rye learns that things aren't always as they seem and that people are not all good or bad but often somewhere in between. Nonstop action makes for a rollicking good tale set in a medieval-like place and period. The fast plot is enhanced by humor, likable charactersincluding some adultsundiluted heroism, frightful Bog Noblins, and a despicable Earl. Altogether, this is a fast, fresh, and engaging adventure sure to delight readers on several levels.— Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library