Windswept

In Tag's world, children must not step outside for fear of being swept away by the wind, never to be seen again. Tag's sisters were taken when she was very young, and now she lives in a house without laughter, where even the windows are boarded up and a knothole is her only connection to the outside world. When a strange boy slips her a note though the knothole inviting her to a secret meeting, she wants to attend -- but how will she manage to leave the house? With a tiny bit of magical help, she finds a way, and joins a group of other children intent on finding and rescuing their windswept siblings and friends. But the quest won't be easy, and as people keep telling them, they'll get there too late or not at all. Still, sometimes you show more have to keep going in the face of the impossible...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: fairy tale retellings are my jam. This one is delightful, drawing on several Nordic tales as well as a few from other traditions. It's also set in a post-apocalyptic future of a world very like ours, so there are artifacts of the previous civilization (mostly plastics) and a strong, occasionally preachy environmental message. The ending wraps up pretty neatly, as you might expect from a fairy tale retelling for kids. I enjoyed the whole quest and the people and creatures they met along the way. I'd recommend this to kids who love it when authors play with fairy tales, and adults who enjoy reading this sort of juvenile fantasy. show less

In a distant future children need to stay inside or else the wind will sweep them away. Tag joins a group of children to go in search of their missing siblings - the windswept. The meet three sisters, face magical curses and ogres. Cute fairy tale like adventure. Tag learns she is much for then just a tag-along.