Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece (Wildwood Whispers), a story about the healing magic of community and the very human evils that make healing magic necessary, immerses readers in the rhythms of a small Appalachian town and the ecstasy of breaking free from abuse and oppression.
Raised by the Sect, a cult that demands submission and silence from its female members, Rachel now finds herself pregnant by her husband, Ezekiel Gray, the Sect preacher who constantly beat her and took pleasure in her pain. She makes her way to an apple orchard on the edge of Morgan's Gap in the Appalachian Mountains, where she is taken in by Mary May, places her daughter in the care of a trusted friend of Mary's, and hides in Mary's cottage for a few years. When Mary disappears and leaves instructions for Rachel to take care of the orchard, Rachel connects with other wisewomen and woodsmen, learning about the magic of the wildwood and the energy infusing the women's craftwork--while also learning about herself and who she wants to be. But then a summer-long Sect revival brings Ezekiel and his hateful rhetoric to Morgan's Gap, and danger threatens Rachel, her daughter, her new circle of friends, and the whole town.
Rachel's voice shines in this first-person narrative interspersed with sections from other characters' perspectives, including that of Ezekiel. Filled with all-too-real hatred and prejudice, Reece's second Wildwood novel also brims with love, hope, and the magical power of womanhood and community. --Dainy Bernstein, postdoc in children's literature, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign