By Tahereh Mafi
Penguin Young Readers Group, 2017. Fiction. 368 p.
Whichwood is the sequel to Furthermore (2016), and pulls Alice and Oliver from Ferenwood to Whichwood and into the life of the very unusual Laylee and her very unfortunate circumstances.
With her mother dead and her father driven insane by grief, 13-year-old Laylee is forced to pick up the mantle as the only mordeshoor in Whichwood. As mordeshoor, Laylee has the duty and magical skills necessary to clean and prepare the bodies of the dead for the Otherwhere, the land beyond death. Laylee’s task of caring for the dead is, at best, unappreciated and at worst scorned and feared by those still alive in Whichwood. This leaves Laylee very lonely, neglected, and angry. On top of all that, the strain of Laylee’s responsibilities are killing her. Laylee, whose dark hair and amber eyes have already turned silver, realizes she is “irrevocably ill” when her bronze skin starts to fade to silver. Laylee hopes only to finish her responsibilities for the dead currently in her care before she dies so that the ghosts of the deceased won’t try to steal the skins of the living. In the midst of all this, Laylee is unexpectedly visited by Alice and Oliver who claim they are on a quest to “fix” Laylee. Offended by the implication that she is something that merely needs fixing, Laylee spurns their help until she grows desperate enough to accept it. However, Laylee is far more ill than she anticipated and she and her new friends must race against the clock to save Whichwood, Laylee’s life, and Laylee’s job.
Using lyrical and descriptive prose, the narrator often directly addresses the reader with witty comments, warnings, and footnotes throughout the book. This book crosses the genres of Fairy Tale and Ghost Story to highlight the power of kindness and true friendship. Though Whichwood is technically a sequel to Furthermore, this book reads very well as a standalone.
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