SAVING COTTONWOOD

Page weaves benevolent witchcraft, folksy animism, and environmental activism into a fantasy novel that offers practical optimism in the face of relentless evil.

Iris Barnes, a recently divorced middle-school librarian, moves to the town of Cottonwood, New Mexico, to try to rebuild her life anew. Her house comes with surprises, including a mysterious letter from its former occupant, Joan Flores, and a strangely persistent cat, whom she names Xena the Warrior Princess; as it turns out, the feline is more than she seems—and who narrates part of the tale: “I am here as a helper; well, more than a helper. I just got a promotion. Now, I’m a bodhisattva….Kind of like a warrior princess, but no.” Iris soon finds herself embroiled in the town’s biggest controversy: The mayor and other powerful players want to open their namesake cottonwood forest to development. Iris joins with Joan, Joan’s niece Annabelle, and an adorable, kind locksmith named Ezra to resist the deforestation. They’re not alone in their mission; unbeknownst to them, the Fae and the animals are also marshaling forces to resist encroachment. Page’s approach to all these magical elements allows them to be both fantastical and refreshingly familiar. The history and depth of the powers at play are epic, but the scope of the story is intimate and personal. The stakes feel simultaneously global and local, evincing an understanding that the ley lines channeling the powers of good and evil may crisscross the world, but are always encountered on one’s own corner of the earth. The book is not overtly political beyond its clear environmentalist stance, but there’s something timely and empowering about a novel in which the heroes are a librarian and a young girl armed with the powers of research, kindness, and determination. Page’s care for all of her characters, and her clear optimism for the kinds of change they might effect, will carry the reader to the end of the book—and, maybe, into their own lives and actions.

A cozy, witchy hug of a book about the power of acting locally and thinking cosmically.