Foxlowe: A Novel

To little ungrown Green, Foxlowe is the entire world. It is in this house on the moors where she grew up with The Family, performing rituals, celebrating Solstice, and playing with her friend Toby and little sister Blue, who was brought one winter as a baby. It is through Green’s child eyes that we see the commune that is Foxlowe.

“As she got older, Blue would be punished again and again for disappearing alone, walking out onto the moor, talking to outsiders. Her arms would be streaked with scars, etchings of Spike Walk nights, and we got used to seeing her bandages.”

The story of Foxlowe is a powerful tale told from the point of view of a character that we wouldn’t expect to be our lead; Green is a follower who isn’t always right, but with her upbringing with her psychotic guardian, Freya, everything that happens makes perfect sense to her. Her “sister”, Blue, is constantly pushing the boundaries, breaking rules by speaking to outsiders, and seems much more likely to be our main character. However, the way that author Eleanor Wasserberg tells the story from Green’s point of view makes everything fall into place, and helps us understand perspectives other than our own. It is this unique perspective that makes this book shine. We are never even told how old the children or adults at this house are, and time is measured in solstices. Any reader will be immediately drawn into the pages, and enter the world that is Foxlowe.

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