WINDBLOWNE

An inventive debut fantasy, set in multiple worlds linked by trees and winds. Unlike so many others in aptly named Windblowne, particularly his brilliant, irascible great-uncle Gilbert, frustrated Oliver can’t make or fly a kite to save his life. His talents lie in other areas, as he discovers when Gilbert is seized and carried off by mysterious fighter kites. With a lift from one of his great-uncle’s magically animate fliers, Oliver courageously sets out to the rescue—and finds himself carried through a wild gale to another Windblowne, where the trees are identical to the oaks he knows so well but another Gilbert is ruthlessly killing them off to power cyborg kites and other technological inventions. As Oliver’s search takes him to further Windblownes, each a little different yet essentially the same, he sees that all the trees on all the worlds are dying. Messer constructs a tale that moves along at a powerful, steady pace to a climactic faceoff, and Oliver’s realization that the gateway to worlds is open for those who can truly listen to the wind’s voices sparks a memorable sea change in his self-image. (Fantasy. 10-12)