THE WAR OF ODDS
LINELL JEPPSEN
ISBN#: 9781939865878
August 15, 2013
World Castle Publishing, LLC
Paperback/E-book
$7.20/$2.99
164 Pages
YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 Cups

Sara Giddings has lost her mother and in the process lost herself. Just now recovering from an overindulgence in drugs, and a move to Washington state, Sara hopes that she will at least be able to make friends at her new school.

Nate is one of the new friends Sara makes at her new school, and she hopes he will eventually become her boyfriend.

Chloe is Sara?s other new friend, a friend who appears to have fairy wings.

Pollo is a wood sprite who sees what Sara truly is.

Hissaphat is a talking cat that is friends with Pollo.

Muriel is a wood nymph that decides that Sara may be just what the fairy realm needs to stop the coming war.

When Sara moves to a new town and new school she hopes that things will be better for her father and her. Her father has a drinking problem and was someone who really sunk deep into the bottle with his depression over her mother?s death. Sara did not fare much better with falling in with a bad crowd and living in a drug filled haze after her mother died. Fortunately for her, both she and her father seem to be doing better in their new home, and Sara makes two new friends, Nate and Chloe right off. But all is not as it seems. When the cat Hissaphat and his young sprite friend Pollo spot Sara they recognize that she is a very powerful if untrained witch. Realizing she does not know and that she apparently has no one to train her, they go to Muriel, a wood nymph and tell her about Sara. Since there is a great darkness trying to take over the fairy realm and that is affecting the human realm as well, she agrees that Sara may be the key to stopping a crazy elf who has declared war on the human realm. However, when approached by Hissaphat and Pollo, Sara is shocked to say the least. When they tell her she is a powerful witch and that they need her help she is not sure if she wants to go. Will Sara decide to help? Who will she choose to go with her into the fairy realm? If she goes who will survive the perilous journey?

I absolutely adored The War of Odds! I especially loved how the author wove in the sasquatches and their mythology, making them part of the fairy realm. The way she describes the relationships between the teenagers and those from the fairy realm that teach them is delightful. Though Muriel appears to be a crotchety old fairy, her fondness for the teenagers is obvious as is her worry. The world building and the descriptions of the different parts of the fairy realm are just wonderful and kept this reader reading long into the night. The emotions throughout the story are poignant and well described making it easy for the reader to feel them right along with the characters. This is a truly lovely, fantastic story that I highly recommend to both young and old. If you love fantasy, and enjoy great world building, then you do not want to miss The War of Odds. I for one will be buying more of this author very soon!

Regina
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More