The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson

For those of you not following along, I’m reading the Wingfeather Saga to mark the release of new collectable hardcover editions being released this year.

And so we come to the much anticipated final book in the series: The Warden and the Wolf King:

All winter long, people in the Green Hollows have prepared for a final battle with Gnag the Nameless and the Fangs of Dang. Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli are ready and willing to fight alongside the Hollowsfolk. But when the Fangs make the first move and invade Ban Rona, the children are separated.

Janner is alone and lost in the hills; Leeli is fighting the Fangs from the rooftops of the city; and Kalmar, who carries a terrible secret, is on a course for the Deeps of Throg. Monsters and Fangs and villains lie between the children and their only hope of victory in the epic conclusion of The Wingfeather Saga.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the continued improvement book to book, I found book four a satisfying conclusion to the series. It was a happy ending of sorts but not without some serious sacrifice. Quests, epic battles, twists and turns and some resolution (but not everything tied up in a neat bow).

I feel like this book had a complexity and intensity that the others didn’t which, again, is appropriate to the conclusion of a series like this. Some readers might have been hoping for an ending with less sacrifice or darkness but I think it gave the book a heft that it might otherwise have lacked. I will leave it at that so as not to spoil anything.

As I have noted frequently, highly recommend for younger readers. Would make a great read aloud for bedtime or a series for active readers looking for character development over multiple books.  As a number of readers have noted, it is best for parents to judge the emotional sensitivity of their children, this is listed as grades 3-7.  There is an emotional punch and real evil involved but nothing I found troubling.

If my kids were younger, I would definitely get the hardcover set.

Kevin Holtsberry
I work in communications and public affairs. I try to squeeze in as much reading as I can while still spending time with my wife and two kids (and cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Michigan Wolverines during football season).

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