Swift

Ivy is preparing for her first lighting. A time of feasting, stories, and to soak in the light that lets the pickeys glow in the dark tunnels underground. Everything is going well until Ivy’s mother disappears and all that is left is a bloody shawl. Everyone believes her mother was taken by the spriggans, an ugly creature that catches piskeys.

Six years later, Ivy is caring for her family, cleaning, and fixing meals. Her father has been nonexistent since they lost their mother. One day, Keelve, another one if the piskeys, is lost and the clan believes the spriggans are again to blame. A search party goes out looking for him and captures the spriggan.
Ivy is troubled by something her brother says about their mother and goes for a walk to discuss it with her father. Instead of finding him, she finds where the spriggan is being kept. They began talking and she finds out he has been looking for her and he’s not a spriggan, but a faery who calls himself Richard and has been sent to find her by her mother.
They make a deal: she will let him free if he will take her to her mother. They practice the magic of shapeshifting so Ivy can become a swift and be able to travel faster. After some time, they are ready. Everything goes well until the other swifts realize that Ivy is not a bird and attack. Richard heals her and they get help from a human girl named Molly.
Richard disappears before Ivy is well enough to travel. So Molly and Ivy take a bus to find Ivy’s mother Marigold. Ivy is excited to see her mother again but also concerned that she is not telling her the whole truth. Then when some mysterious statues begin showing up around the city, Ivy isn’t sure whom she can trust and who is putting her people in danger. Figuring out who may cost a lot of lives.

The writing of this book was absolutely amazing. I loved it from beginning to end. The climax was awesome. The weaving of descriptions and pacing were spectacular. I didn’t love the ending, and I think it could have been drawn out a bit more and woven together a little bit better. I wanted a little more from the wrap-up. The characters were well-done and fleshed out. Ivy was spectacular. I loved Richard and Molly. I liked the way Mica and Mattock were written too. The true villain in the story was a bit surprising and I liked that.
My favorite parts were when Ivy learned how to take swift form and the climax. I loved how she went from being told what to do to taking initiative herself.

Age recommendation: 10 and up.