WIND Paperback – February 1, 2022

This is a wild romp of a book, filled with vivid characters, lots of humor, and mythic mischief. We have Katie, the self-willed girl who shall have to find out what really matters. Za, her purple, Smurf-like companion. The wise goddess Dania (think the huntress Diana), and the rather scary Seidon (Poseidon). All conspire to make this a tale of enchantment with just the right environmental undertones. I loved it.

A friend of mine had recently recommended to me to try youth books as there is more character development and less "adult diversions". Somehow that piqued my interest, and I gave Wind a try. What a delight! It was easy to read in a few days and is full of magical descriptions and a mystery tour. I loved the writing and the fantasy it created. Characters good and bad came and went, with hints at the problems facing our world. A bit scary but a very empowered pair of friends. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will be sending Wind to my cousin's teen daughter and reading more of this genre myself, especially any by this author. Give it a try!

Wind is an innovative and enlightening page-turner which will captivate readers. Children will especially love the enthralling creatures and cliff-hanging plot as the heroine travels through an intriguing new world. Adults will particularly appreciate the sage passages that inspire a deep relationship with nature in all forms. Ultimately, readers will take away a beautiful message that the “poison” in our minds and actions can be conquered through honesty, cooperation, and kindness as we journey to accept ourselves and find our home on our interconnected planet. With a great balance of meaningful ideas and entertaining action, this is a rare book that can be thoroughly enjoyed by children, teens, and adults alike!

With characters memorable and quirky, and situations fantastical and murky, Ellen Dee Davidson enthralls her readers with a story of classic proportions. WIND is a tale for all ages, or at least for all who know how to fuel their imaginations. I'm enjoying Katie's adventure so much I'm hardly aware of the nuanced wisdom inside the story's pages; until I reflect back on a scene and realize how applicable Katie's journey is to my own, and to so many. I can see this book as a movie, and the cinematography would be incredible!

This child’s fantasy is quite the ride. “What’s one more mystery when nothing made sense?” Sums up how it all starts. The adventure is tougher and more introspective than you’d expect for someone so young. Katie is an incredibly perceptive young lady. She senses and hears things that animals and plants around her are trying to say or feeling. This insightful gift to communicate with basically every being alive is really the conduit for the entire journey. Having a quirky alien named Za with a superiority complex just makes it more fun. But I must say Kira, the big lion babygirl is probably my favorite of the mix. The quest at the heart of the book has a theme of reflection and balancing the effects we have on our surroundings to achieve a harmonious living. It focuses on the fundamental facts of commonality or as written in the book “All the elements together. That's what gives life. Life, so amazing. so mysterious. were all made out of the elements and in that way were all connected, all one.” Describing the music of life. Made of every being emitting it’s personal note that plays simultaneously with all the others around it to create a symphony. When I was discussing this with a friend, I had trouble finding the right way to express the way this book felt. I finally settled on it feels young, but with the simplistic logic, yet deep wisdom that comes from either consuming substances or old age. This quote from which the book was named, is the best way to finish my thoughts. "Wind is everywhere and nowhere. Wind carries messages on the air, the elemental you humans can't live without for even a few minutes. Wind travels lightly, sees everything, including the song weave throughout the earth. Wind is my essence, my nature, my source of flight. Change comes on the wind.”

Reading Wind was a wild adventure. Katie’s plight. after finding herself in an alternate world, grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. Her quest to find a way home compels her to take on challenges I’d never conceived of, and the creatures she meets are original and unforgettable. Ellen Dee Davidson’s love for the natural world shines through and the book is filled with beauty and humor as well as danger. Highly recommended!

This story is a fun adventure with similar tones as Madeleine L'Engle's worlds in her novels. The message that we need to listen to the needs of our planet (the trees, the waters, etc.) is a vital message for our times.

An adventurous YA fantasy full of twists and turns that all lead back to the message that to survive this chapter of our lives, we must all learn to take care of our inner and outer environments.