From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal, comes a heartbreaking and heartwarming story about sisterhood, found family and accepting love in the most unusual and unknown places.
Fen and Rey were found curled up small and tight in the fiery fur of the foxes at the very edge of the wildlands. Fen is loud and fierce and free. She feels a connection to foxes and a calling from the wild that she’s desperate to return to. Rey is quiet and shy and an expert on nature. She reads about the birds, feeds the lands and nurtures the world around her.
They are twin sisters. Different and the same. Separate and connected. They will always have each other, even if they don’t have a mother and don’t know their beginning. But they do want answers. Answers to who their mother is and where she might be. What their story is and how it began. So when a fox appears late one night at the house, Fen and Rey see it as a sign – it’s here to lead them to their truth, find their real family and fill the missing piece they have felt since they were born.
But the wildlands are exactly that: wild. They are wicked and cruel and brutal and this journey will be harder and more life-changing than either Fen or Rey ever imagined…
This a moving and memorable exploration of sisterhood, wilderness and belonging – three themes that seem naturally, inextricably bonded after reading Foxlight. Through Fen’s gentle yet sure narration, we are taken on an unforgettable journey of self-discovery, as the twins search for truth and clarity in a past clouded with mystery.
Foxlight is also a poignant ode to stories – the stories that others tell us, the stories we invent for ourselves, and the stories we choose to allow to define us. While I imagine this particular story will resonate especially profoundly with children who have lost or are missing a parent, thoughtful and imaginative kids from all walks of life will have plenty to reflect on. Readers will come to understand – through Fen and Rey’s experiences – how important a sense of personal history is in our lives, and how much agency we can exert over our own narratives.
Based in the UK, Katya Balen is an award-winning children’s author, and it’s easy to see why.
I was struck by her lyrical prose, rich with breathtaking nature imagery. Her sentences flow with an attention to rhythm and breath usually reserved for literary fiction. At the same time, the book is wonderfully accessible for young readers. It has a beautifully timeless, fable-like quality to it, creating the kind of otherworldly every-place that kids can easily imagine themselves into.
Foxlight is a unique novel, sure to be loved and cherished by readers 8+. Grown-up readers will also get a lot out of this moving and evocative story, making it a perfect choice for parents and caregivers to read aloud with little ones.
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