The Monster in the Hollows picks up where we left the Igiby family at the end of North! Or Be Eaten, which is still one of the best titles for an adventure book ever. Aboard their boat sailing for the Green Hollows, the Igiby children get their first glimpse of their homeland. In the distance they can see no land, but they can see smoke rising, from the fire that is still burning nine years after Anniera was set ablaze by the evil Gnag the Nameless. Their arrival at the Green Hollows is soothed by the music of the song maiden, but it is still a bumpy arrival. The people have grown hardened over the years. While their land never fell to the Fang army, their borders grew tighter, their hearts colder. The arrival of the Igiby’s with the winged Throne Warden, and the Wolf King, is immediately under suspicion. Nia Wingfeather steps into her role as the Queen of Anniera and pledges her own life for her youngest son. Now Kalmar’s fate,Kalmar’s actions, are directly linked, by some kind of blood oath, to his mother’s. If he is to be punished she will receive the same punishment.

After they have arrived and been given permission to stay, they discover that their ancestral home on their mother’s side is still there, and is still theirs. Along with an old friend, they settle into life with the Hollowsfolk. The children find and fight for their place at school. The Queen’s heart learns to beat again. Oskar N Reteep begins to translate the first book with more vim and vigor. Janner begins to think that they might know peace here.

All he really wanted were good books to read, a warm bed, and his family and friends near.

But of course the evil still lurks in the west. Anniera still burns. The borders of The Hollows are still plagued by the cloven, and other unnatural beasts. And within their lands are enemies that smell sweet, but are fouler by far. When Kalmar makes some secret decisions, he places his entire family in danger. As a result of his actions, more is drawn into the light than we could ever have known was hiding in the darkness, and the future becomes something else entirely.

The third installment of The Wingfeather Saga is gripping from first to last page. Things we thought we knew are upended, and things we had long hoped for are attained and then dashed to pieces. Yet as much of the development of the story of Anniera is engaging, it is the stories of the female characters in the saga that are the most interesting, and best developed in this installment.

In Nia Wingfeather we are given a Queen to rally behind, then shown how you can be a Queen, a mother, a friend, and interestingly enough, a lover, all without sacrificing any part of your character. She remains one of the strongest characters in this saga, and I am seriously contemplating some cosplay this Halloween if I can get my family on board. The culmination of the events of this book are devastating for her, and I am keenly anticipating where she goes after this.

Leeli Wingfeather is given the chance to shine in this book, finding her true calling in life. It is a joy to read as her talents are explored, and as the adults around her build her up, recognizing her gifts and encouraging her to pursue them. The teachers at the school are remarkable. They treat their young charges as valuable contributors to society, whilst educating them. Some of the scenes with the boys in training are amongst the best Peterson has written so far, but it is the relationships that Leeli builds that ultimately provide the most aid to the family and enjoyment to the reader. The O’Sally boys are everything their name sounds like they should be.

Then we come to Sara Cobbler. Sara was a throwaway line in the first book. The name of a child taken by the black carriage, seemingly just to show the evils that lurked in the night. In North! Or Be Eaten we come across Sara in the fork factory at Dugtown, and she helps Janner in his escape. In The Monster in the Hollows Sara becomes her own hero, the director of her own fate, and in many ways the leader of a whole new nation. Her character development is perhaps my favorite. Imagine Hermione Granger, but with more pluck, more danger, and less boys. Sara Cobbler’s character arc, and her ultimate showdown, receives a lot of chapter space in this book and rightly so. When you are with her, you are never too eager to get back to what is transpiring in the Green Hollows. You want to be with Sara, you want to be Sara.

This book definitely finds a better balance between male and female characters, and while Janner and Kalmar develop, it is the growth and strength of the various female characters that really stand out here. Nia’s relationship with her childhood friend. Leeli’s growing position in her guild. Sara, just for Sara alone.

She wanted them to know it was better to fight and lose than to sink away into nothingness under the Overseer’s evil grin.

Unfortunately Peterson does not continue with his delightful footnotes in this book, but there are still some gems in the Appendices which he uses to help further our history of this world. Indeed throughout this book we are given more history, whether through the studies of Oskar N Reteep, the recollections of Artham, or the relationships between NIa and the Hollowsfolk. If North! Or Be Eaten showed us a world outside of Glipwood, The Monster in the Hollows shows us just how interconnected everything and everyone actually is. Whether they know it or not, whether they accept it or not, the fate of the Annierans is directly tied to that of the Hollowsfolk, the Stranders, and even the dark beings that lurk in the forest. It isn’t just the distant smoke that hovers over them. More than anything however, Peterson shows us that there is always hope.

He had grown into something more and not less. That meant that the power Gnag the Nameless and his Stone Keeper had unlocked in the music could do more than just warp and deform. It could do more than destroy.
It could change something twisted into a flourish.
It could take what was bent and make it beautiful.
It could heal.


This saga shows us what can be accomplished when good people step up, when good people start speaking out, when we fight for what is right despite our own personal comfort. It’s a great book to read as a family this year, and is certainly the tonic that I needed right now.

I finished book 3, The Warden and the Wolf King of this Wingfeather series and was happy to have book 4 available immediately. As a fantasy series aimed at middle school children, I think these books hit all the right notes. The characters are believable, the plot is exciting, and the themes are echoed in the real world. The 3 children whose adventures the story follows have experienced the loss of their home, their family and their country. They have unique gifts, but struggle with their own and others flaws.
Although there is juvenile humor about smells and peoples appearance that as an adult I found jarring, many of my students would appreciate them. The best part is, that some of the most disgusting looking and smelling characters turn out to be real heroes. I felt it was a wonderful way to learn not to judge by appearances.

This series just keeps getting better with each book! I love this series and suggest you start with the first book and read them in order. This book is not just for kids, I'm 63 years old and I love it. Grab this series today and escape from the world for a while. Thank you WaterBrook & Multnomah via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Finally the Igilby family are safe! Having escaped from Gnag the Nameless, they arrive in the Green Hollows anticipating a warm welcome. No longer needing to run from toothy hounds and ridgerunners, they can finally settle down and even attend school like normal children. But there is a problem. There is a wild cloven on the loose and there have been reports of bloodthirsty Fangs sneaking into the Green Hollows. But perhaps the greatest threat is from the town folk themselves, for they do not trust the Igilby children, least of all Kalmar. You could not blame them really. With furry skin, whiskers and a tail, Kalmar looks more like an enemy Fang than a normal kid.

The story takes us from two boys learning how to deal with bullying classmates to an ominous cave filled with bones. But perhaps most of all, the book reminds us that the things that appear evil are not always so and sometimes those things that appear trustworthy need greater examination. Kalmar might live with the shame of his fur but eventually he learns that it a person's heart will directs his decisions and the the real truth of who someone is will surface for all to see. Andrew Peterson has written an adventure story for children (complete with a shocking twist) and yet manages to capture the emotion of grief in his characters as they lose someone precious to them. I highly recommend this book but don't start with this one - go back and read them from the beginning!

Long has it been since I read a book that made me literally tear up at the end. And for that, I am grateful, Mr. Peterson!

After the Wingfeathers have been chased all across Skree and eventually, across the sea, it seems that things have gotten better for them in the Green Hollows. I was happy to see the children going to school and making friends (and enemies). But all good things cannot last. And the children are once again thrown into danger as a monster is spotted in the Hollows.

The beginning felt more like Harry Potter, in the going-to-school-and-making-friends-and-enemies area. A new side of the Wingfeather world was explored in this way and everything just felt…different. In a good way. Once again, Peterson’s plot was expertly woven and written with just enough humor and poignancy to satisfy me.

New characters appear, now that they’re all in the Hollows, and each one has a large personality, just like the original cast. There are several characters previously mentioned in the first two books that appear that made me very happy! And very sad and angry and frustrated and wanting to read the next book. So, basically, they were perfect.

Not much happens, adventure-wise in the book until around 60%, but the tension and interest level are still pretty high as Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli navigate this new world.

There’s really nothing else I can think of to say besides the fact that I loved it! Monster in the Hollows is a beautiful, lovely third book in the Wingfeather Saga and I’m so glad that I was finally able to continue reading the series!

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Monster in the Hollows was written by Andrew Peterson. It is book three in The WingFeather Saga. This is not a standalone book. You need to read the first two in order to understand the storyline.

Summary: The Igiby family has arrived in The Green Hollows-somewhere they can finally relax and be safe. But the townsfolk are not so sure about the Igibys-especially Tink, who now looks like one of their most dreaded enemies-the Grey Fang.

As the Igibys settle into their new home, the children begin attending school for the first time. Will the other children learn to accept them, or will the Igibys be outsiders for good?

Can Janner, Tink, and Leeli find their way in this new world safe from evil…or will evil come to them?

My Thoughts: I loved this book. It is definitely my favorite so far in the series. I loved the setting, the characters, the interesting school subjects, and just the overall storyline as the children try to settle in to a whole new way of living. It was an extremely enjoyable read, and I will definitely be reading it again!

I am really enjoying just how unique this series is-all of the different lands, peoples, creatures-it is really fascinating, and very well-written. It is reminiscent of other classic book series where entire worlds are developed by an author, and there is the classic good versus evil plot-like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and the Narnia series.

I am looking forward to finishing the series, and then introducing it to my kids-as I think they are going to enjoy it too!

I would like to thank WaterBrook & Multnomah for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!

Rating warning -- It's more than 3.5 but less than 4.

I discovered this series in Netgalley itself, and while I got the arcs for for book 3 and 4, I got myself the ebooks for 1 & 2 since I wanted to do justice to the series.

One thing for sure - The author has amazing world building skills. Almost none of the creatures we know exist in this world. And one that exists (a dragon) also has some unique characteristics.

Magic of this world - It is a soft magic system. And magic is not the most important part of the story, magic is used and felt, but the main focus of this story is courage and bravery. We don’t have any “Avada Kevada” to kill. You will have to do the hardwork yourself.

Inspiration - I think this series has been inspired by the LOTR series. There is almost no Harry Potter reference in this series, which is like a breath of fresh air.

Now the plot -----

The 2nd book was extremely engaging. The characters were facing situation one after the other, it was like they could not really take a proper breath or rest properly. That got solved in the third part. After their adventures in second book, this book was comparatively slow paced but it was a welcomed pace.

The book starts off sweetly and slowly we learn about how our society deals with those who are kind of broken. The major theme of this book was how fear can make people do certain things and that if you are afraid then you are not really free.

It is about Kalmar the High King of Anniera who has been fanged. The prejudices and fights that their family goes through, and most importantly we see how Janner deals with his emotions regarding his own brother who has been fanged and who needs to be protected by him.

I think I liked this book a lot because of how well Janner’s thoughts and emotions have been portrayed. That anger of having a responsibility you would not have signed for, that feeling of doing things you don’t want to and sacrificing your own desires, that grudge, anger and dislike you want to hold onto but unable to, knowing that you are being selfish yet not being able to help it, understanding what needs to be done still trying to deny it and throwing tantrums --- I loved it all. I have went through these, I could sooooo relate and I absolutely loved it.

There were 2 plot twists in this story. One was kind of expected and the other one was simply unexpected and was not delivered properly either, it felt abrupt. From whatever I have read in the past two books, I expected a more careful planning of the plot twist. A good plot would have connected the dots, whereas this felt like coming from nowhere.

(SPOILER) This incident raises many questions -- If King knew about Bonnifer than why did Throne Warden not know about it ? He should have and could have warned the children during their journey, said a tale perhaps ?(SPOILER OVER)

Last but not the least, we get a really important lesson about loss. Losing once is heartbreaking but twice, that is just terrible. This ending was simply heart wrenching and gut punching T_T !!

Thank you Netgalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah publishers for the free reading eArc.

It never ceases to amaze me how impressive these books can be. This next addition continues with all the majesty and brilliance as the first two books. I am quite sad the series ends after this next book. My son will love reading these when he is older as well. I can't recommend this author or the series enough!

Loved this third book in the Wingfeather Saga! The adventures of Leeli, Janner and Kalmar continue. The family has been reunited and is looking for a safe haven. They do find a place, but will it become a home and will they find acceptance.? I came to love the characters even more and will definitely be reading book #4. Come along for the ride!

Jennifer Norwood's reviewAug 28, 2020 · edit
really liked it

This book was a great read. I enjoyed the entire thing, though I read this one first since I downloaded it first on my phone. The characters feel like they could be living today, even with the extra features. The plot twists and turns so well that I couldn't stop reading. I think I read the whole thing in 12 days or so which I think is good for a mom of 2 toddlers.
I am going to read all the rest of the books in the series so that I can find out what happened before this book that I missed and what happens next. This book makes me want to see what other series are available by Andrew Peterson and try some others. It was that good!!
I received this book free from Waterbrook and Multnomah. #PRHpartner

These stories were our escape from the weirdness of 2020.

Thank you to the publisher through Netgalley for an advanced copy.

I love this series so much! I recommend this series 100% thank you for the opportunity to be able and read this! I love the story and your writing flows naturally. A given talent to be able to write so wonderfully.

Andrew Peterson has once again blessed us with a world of adventure with his creativity. In this third book, the saga continues. I have young children and I cannot wait to introduce them to this series. I recommend it for audiences of all ages.

This book is exceptional. I'm re-reading the entire series (again!) with my 11-year-old, and I flew through book 3 to get it into her hands. With all the adventure in books 1 & 2, I'm glad for the pace of this book -- a real chance to catch your breath before the final book of the series.

I cannot wait to add these new illustrated hardback versions to our collection.

As often happens in a multi-volume series, there's one volume that seems to slow down a bit. That would be the first part of this book. Don't get me wrong. It was still delightful to read about the Igiby-Wingfeathers settling in to their lives in the Hollow as well as dealing with the Hollow residents prejudices against Kalmar. But when the action does finally pick up, it's non-stop with plenty of twists and turns and surprises. The book ends well, with a moment of quiet before the battle that will inevitably come in the final book of the series.

I’m dead! 😵
I think this is by far my favorite book in the series!

This book started on a happy note and slowly escalated with more and more conflict. It was well paced and there was space to breathe between each problem or rather trouble that occurred. The story was adventurous. The troubles made me nervous. The lessons touch my heart in a special way.

What I love about this book or this series is the developing characters. I enjoy seeing how they grow and mature and face challenges in life. They learnt to overcome circumstances and doubt through love and perseverance. I especially was so proud of Janner when he stood up to the bully for his brother.

The best part for me though was the ending. There was so many plot twist! Even though I expected them, I was still wreaked! The revelations were astounding but in the end, the joy was taken away by death. I was devastated! Why allow readers such a short lived happiness? 😭

Even so, I’m excited to read the next installment and then I’ll be investing my money in a set of the physical books 😍 I mean.. it’s so worth to keep them as a collection!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook & Multnomah through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you to author Andrew Peterson, to the publisher WaterBrook & Multnomah, and to NetGalley for this opportunity. The Wingfeather trilogy books are getting new hardback editions with new illustrations. How exciting!

The Monster in the Hollows delivers an exciting non-stop final third with so many twists and turns that I did not see coming. To the readers who may find that this book starts a little slow, as I did, I say keep reading. It's worth it! If I could give partial star ratings, I would give this a 3.5, as it is clearly a good book for the target demographic. Since I personally felt that the first two-thirds were quite slow during my read through, I cannot personally give it 4, but readers who have recently enjoyed the previous two books may be more forgiving of world-building tangents. Consider this a very high 3-star, almost 4-star rating.

I confess that this is the first Wingfeather book I've read, and I expected to be confused. I wasn't! The cast is arriving in a new place at the beginning of this installment, so there's a lot of worldbuilding and history to explore. Through the process of all that, any reader new or old should be informed enough about the events of the previous two books to proceed without feeling like information is missing. I hope that doesn't mean readers who start at the beginning of the series and read through without delays between books might find the world-building repetitive, but as I did not read the previous book, I cannot comment on that.

The school system in this new country is very interesting, and clearly not at all what the kids are used to. Although I felt sorry for Janner not being able to choose the specialty that called to him, since he had to go where his brother chose to go, experiencing the two brothers together in what seems to be this world's version of cadet training is highly entertaining. (Get the boot!)

Although the first two-thirds of this book didn't particularly grip me, I'm not the target audience. Progressive adults looking for a light read may be bothered by the frequent affirmation of traditional gender roles, and at points I felt that the rejection of evil message was in danger of bordering on xenophobia, which I don't think was the author's intent. That said, this is most definitely an entertaining family read for Christian families with preteen children who enjoy fantasy worlds and creatures. This book features strong themes of family values, faith, forgiveness, and defending what is good and right.

The Monster in the Hollows continues the story of the Jewels of Anniera,:Jenner, Kalmar and Leeli. They are about to enter the land of Anniera for the first time, their homeland where they are considered royalty. After escaping Gnag the nameless and crossing the Dark See of Darkness, the children began to piece together their families history. On top of that they have a fantastic adventure that includes, swords fights, songs and them befriending a monster who in fact may hold the key to solving more mysteries of the past. The new illustrations have made this book even more memorable. This book is worth reading over and over again, it has a beautiful story about a family, who is not always perfect, but in the end is always there to forgive, love and encourage one another.

Following the adventures of our great protagonists we venture to new adventures, and people, in this book is more full of answers to our questions from the first 2 books, it is a story that has amazed me in its creative way and its construction of the world, the family is still the important thing in this book, fighting against adversity and seeing that light of hope and quality so that the family is finally together and heals and is happy.
Without a doubt this is a saga that deserves to be read and to be able to enjoy the great world

The three Wingfeather siblings finally reach the Green Hollows, where their mother grew up, and hope that finally they are safe. But are they truly safe? With Gnag the nameless after them, how long can it actually last? When will they be found again, and where else is left for them to go?

Finally, I got some answers! I was once again impressed with Andrew Peterson’s creative talents. He manages to weave depth into a children’s book that you don’t find very often. And not the normal attempted depth, someone’s grandma dying, or a parent losing a job, or losing a friend -- what you normally find in children’s books, and what is normally ineffective. This book had real depth. The story of a family trying to find happiness when the whole world is up against them. The story of finally finding it, only to have it ripped away -- again. This is the story of music, magic and mistakes. It’s a tale of looking past appearances. It’s about sacrifices, both large and small.

There are some problems that I feel were glossed over too much. Why do the Wingfeathers always run and hide, instead of trying to do anything about Gnag and the Fangs? I don’t like to say it, but they come across as… selfish. They never seem to form real attachments to the people they have lived among for years. We really only hear about the present, which seems rather simplistic. Also, Leeli is completely perfect. When has she done anything wrong in all three books so far? It’s starting to bother me.
But I guess to put it in perspective, if these are my biggest complaints about a book, the book must be pretty good.

I don’t have much to say that I didn’t say in my review of North! Or be Eaten. This book is very much a continuation of that one. I think it is just as good or better, but it left me with almost as many questions as answers. What will happen next? I plan to find out.