J. Anderson Coats weaves a spine-tingling tale reimaging The Legend of the Green Children of Woolpit. Ancient bargains, otherworldly creatures, a wise pig, and dangerous adventures await young readers.

When twelve-year-old Agnes discovers two trapped Fae children and frees them, she releases an ancient bargain struck that threatens to destroy everyone she loves.

Imagine bringing home two children, green ones at that, who speak a strange language and seem to be suffering, only to find out they bring with them a cursed bargain and lies.

J. Anderson Coats creates a lovely tale with fairy tale vibes about family, honesty, and finding your place. I would recommend this to patient readers as the story is slow and meandering. Included are positive themes about girls helping each other out and forgiveness. My only complaint is the characters fall slightly flat beside Agnes and her two green companions.

The tale of the green children has always struck me as inherently silly. Not Coats' version. This is a story that is taken entirely seriously. The beings involved here are not fairies; these are the fae. Immortal, joyless beings that have no care for humans. They make bargains and care only for their own desires. They take people as slaves, are cruel and capricious. It's more than just the cruelty of the faerie, though. It's the harshness of life in the feudal system. It's abandoned children living in a world that looks on them with suspicion and derision. These characters are under threat from the fae, from the lord of the land, and from their own neighbors. Sure they take care of each other but they also sell one another out for advancement. This leaves us with characters learning to find satisfaction in daily life. There is no happily ever after, only minor victories.

J Anderson Coats weaves a magical, dark fairy tale with intriguing characters. Agnes has to be told over and over "today is not the day to get lost in a story", especially since it is time to help her family get in the harvest. However, when she finds some strange little green children in the bottom of a wolf pit, it changes her life and the lives of the townspeople. There are twists and turns throughout the book. If you like fairies then you will love this book!

I have really enjoyed some of Coats previous books and was excited to read this one. This was an intriguing dark fairy tale like story with a very old world feel to it. I ended up enjoying this and it’s a pretty quick read. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley to review.

Agnes is prone to dreaming and making stories in her head, which doesn’t help her parents get in the harvest. However, when Agnes finds two green children trapped in a pit on the edge of town her whole life (and that of the townspeople) is turned topsy turvy.

There is something about Coats’ writing style that I really enjoy. It always flows beautifully and is descriptive and well written, it’s pretty much effortless for me to read. I loved the themes of family and friendship throughout. I also enjoyed what a large world Coats gives us a glimpse into in this brief novel.

This story was magical in a very dark fairy tale like way. I loved the faerie elements and how the plot twisted and turned. This ended up being a very quick and engaging read for me.

Overall I enjoyed this. It was an engaging, beautifully written, and fast-paced dark fairy tale. I would recommend to those who enjoy stories about faerie and changelings.

Agnes hears crying in the woods and discovers a green girl and boy in the wolf pits. Everyone just thinks she is telling stories again, but soon the children are brought to the village and fostered with Agnes's family. Green Agnes has made a bargain with the king under the hill. She just needs to find someone to take her place and she will be free. That someone is Agnes. Soon Agnes and the boy (who isn't really a boy) are back in the kingdom under the hill. Agnes wants to find a way out of faerieland and back to her family, but faeries are tricky and you have to make just the right bargain.

This was interesting and a bit dark. I enjoyed the whole mythology of the story. Green Agnes's people were Iron Age British who were forced out by the Romans. They agreed to serve under the hill in order to survive. You don't get a lot of stories that take place in 12th century and I always enjoy a new setting for a story. I liked the contrasts of Fair Agnes and Green Agnes. They both basically want the same thing (home and family), but go about getting it differently.

This story is about Agnes, who lives in England in 1170. She finds two green skinned children in a wolf pit. The kids don't speak a language that anyone can understand and they can't explain how they got there. It turns out the kids are from under the earth. The girl is trying to escape servitude to the fairies and the only way she can do it is to find someone else to take her place and that person is Agnes. This is really fun story to read-it's mysterious and magical AND it has a basis in truth! SO MUCH FUN.

Hello, I will be adding this review to my Instagram, Blog, and Goodreads on September 7th, 2019. The links to each will be added once they are live. Thank you!

Title: The Green Children of Woolpit
Author: J. Anderson Coats
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy/Historical Fiction
Publication Date: September 10th, 2019
eARC provided by publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.



Synopsis: "It is the autumn of 1160, and twelve-year-old Agnes is helping with the harvest when she hears a frightened voice calling from the nearby woods. When she goes to investigate, Agnes can’t believe what she sees. There, at the bottom of the deep wolf traps, are two children. They are shouting in a language no one understands—and their skin is bright green.

Agnes soon discovers that these are no ordinary children; in fact, they aren’t even human. They are of the Fair Folk, and they are here to take Agnes home to their world. Trusting that the Fair Folk cannot lie, Agnes agrees to venture underground. But she soon learns just how dangerous their world is—and what it will take to break the ancient bargain meant to keep her there." (Amazon)


My Review:
I will say that in the beginning it was hard to get into this book because it was quite slow and I wasn't a fan of the writing style. As the story progressed, I found myself being intrigued with the plot but the characters were just alright.

Agnes has heard stories about The Good People from her granny and she repeats the lessons she was told throughout the book. Although she may have this advice, she still manages to find herself in trouble. I did like that she didn't give up. Besides the green children, the other characters are pretty minor. They don't have any background or character development. They are simply there for minor parts in the plot and that's about it. The green children have the most development and are really the driving force for everything that goes on. They are sneaky but even then, nothing always goes as planned.

The plot had its slow parts in the beginning but it eventually smoothed out and continued at a rapid pace. There were a few plot twists and they were quite surprising so I did enjoy them. There are two point of views in this story once you get a bit in and at first I was confused by it because there isn't much of an indicator for it but as I got used to it, it does help to understand the characters.

Overall, it was an interesting tale and if you are a fan of fairy folk or like fairy-tales then you should definitely give this book a try!