I did not expect to cry when reading the final chapters of a kids book, but I did (in public too, might I add). I'd grown to care about each of the Wingfeather children, and I deeply felt the beauty and grief in their story. The gospel themes resounded so strongly in this final book - hope, sacrifice, redemption, restoration, and love.

I could not have imagined how artfully each story line would've intersected with each other. It was so satisfying to learn the fuller history of the people of Anneira, Skree, the Green Hollows, and the other lands, after hearing bits and pieces through the first 3 books.

This is one of those books that you don't want to end, yet you also can't stop reading because you want to know what happens. Highly recommend for kids and adults alike!

We read this series aloud as a family and it was perfect! I felt like it was an emotional roller coaster, but still such a good story. I love where this book took the family.

The Warden and the Wolf King, a middle grade Christian fantasy book, was an epic end to the Wingfeather Saga! My son will be reading through the series soon.

The Warden and The Wolf King

The Wingfeather Saga Book 4

By: Andrew Peterson

Publisher: WaterBrook & Multnomah, WaterBrook

Children’ Fiction

Publish Date: 06 October 2020

#TheWardenandtheWolfKing#NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

Good Reads Synopsis:

All winter long, people in the Green Hollows have prepared for a final battle with Gnag the Nameless and the Fangs of Dang. Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli—Throne Warden, Wolf King, and Song Maiden of Anniera—are ready and willing to fight alongside the Hollowsfolk, but when the Fangs make the first move and invade Ban Rona, the children are separated. Janner is alone and lost in the hills; Leeli is fighting the Fangs from the rooftops of the city; and Kalmar, who carries a terrible secret, is on a course for the Deeps of Throg. Meanwhile in Skree, Sara Cobbler and Maraly Weaver care for the broken Artham Wingfeather as Fangs muster for battle across the MightyRiver Blapp.

Sea dragons lurk in the waters. Wicked Stranders crawl through the burrows. Ridgerunners and trolls prowl the land. Cloven haunt the forest. Monsters and Fangs and villains lie between the children and their only hope of victory—in the epic conclusion of The Wingfeather Saga.

Book Review:

In this fourth and final book The WingFeather Saga you have a lot happening. I gave this book a 3-star rating because I thought it went a little long. It seemed to drag a lot in the middle, and I found myself being bored. I do love the family and how they support and help each other. I don’t want to give too much away because it the final book in this series. I enjoyed how they were able to befriend other fangs and get them to help them in the end. I also liked how they never gave up and even though they had problems and mishaps on the way they were able to push through and finally get to where they wanted to be.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Waterbrook and Multnomah for my copy of The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson in exchange for an honest review. It published October 6, 2020.
What a fabulous fourth book in the series! My ten year old daughter positively devoured this installment. She was so enthralled and found every chance she could to read this. The story was engrossing and fun, fascinating and unputdownable. We are already talking about rereading the whole series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Book #4, The Warden and the Wolf King, picks up immediately from book #3, and deals with some of the jaw-dropping plot twists from the previous finale. I seriously wish I could blab about all of those spoilers, but I can't...so if I'm being vague, I apologize. You'll thank me if you read these books. There isn't really a dry spot to be found in this book, and I ended up reading the entire second half in one sitting. The stakes are continually high throughout the entire book, and we also get a little bit of backstory on Gnag the Nameless and exactly why he's so terrible. The Jewels of Anniera must face their worst fears and risk losing everything in order to defeat Gnag and what threatens the whole world as they know it. I had chills so many times over certain lines, certain actions that were taken, and the depth of thought that is obviously present in these books. And as for the finale...well, I'm still reeling a little about it and I'd rather not think about it too much, but I'm satisfied with the ending. And you'll want to stick around for the epilogue for sure. Trust me on this.


(I don't cry very often over books, like honest-to-goodness cry, but these ones...wow.)

An excellent middle-grade winner from Andrew Peterson. This series never gets old and the kids love it almost as much as I do. I love seeing these characters grow and change through the books. The lessons learned are beneficial for every reader. There's everything to love about this book. The details will draw you in and keep readers young and old attached to the pages long after bedtime.

This book, this series is so good that I bought the hardcover new 2020 editions. They are now on my shelf next to these 2011-2014 editions.

Oh my goodness! How could this be the last book in this series, and yet, how can it not be? I have to read them again soon, something that is rare for me to do! I will surely never forget Toothy Cows, just to name one reason for reading this series. This series started as a story that the Author and Father was making for his sons. It bloomed into an epic adventure that you will not want to put down! You should read the entire series so you don't miss anything!

Our group was left with a pending war against Gnag the Nameless, and the Fangs of Dang. Fangs come in two colors, and both the Gray ones and the Green ones are in on this. Thus, War. That would have been ok, had those horrible Fangs not got the jump on them and attacked prior to full readiness. Janner's family is all split up and separated, as well as them still being in shock over the revelation of who their father is.

Can they find their way back to each other? Will one of them die or be lost forever? Can you PLEASE understand that I adore the REAL Seadragons so don't be mean to seadragons unless you must *must"!

To try to cram this into a post, a solid review of this book, and not give away things I shouldn't, isn't easy this time. The action is far from lacking. The issues of the heart are prevalent. The ending, oh my. I do hate endings, but I hate non-endings more! Don't be afraid to share this series with your children, and park a set in the library of your Kindle or your home so that you can share them with those who can appreciate fine creative works that have an underlying Christ like theme deeply embedded into their core.

Read this series! The entire series was so enjoyable! In this concluding novel, Mr Peterson wraps everything up neatly. There are lots of surprises. There are also lessons to learn. I was amazed at the variety of characters that the author created. One again, many times I had a lot of trouble putting the book down. The ending is going to surprise you.

Love the Wingfeather Saga series, it's such a delight to read! The characters are well thought through and the story carries you through a really fun adventure. It's worth reading!

I really enjoyed this story. I read it without reading the previous in the series and it was still quiet easy to get what was happening. I also loved the three different perspectives on the story. I tend to like stories more when they are set up like that.

https://geekmom.com/2020/09/the-monster-in-the-hollows-finding-your-true-self-in-the-wingfeather-saga/
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 the first to the 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.


Leeli Wingfeather, Sara Cobbler, and Nia High Queen of Anniera (Images: Used with permission of the author)



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 fewer 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. Alas, not nearly enough Sea Dragons in this book.

The third installment of Andrew Peterson’s The Wingfeather Saga is re-released this October, in hardcover for the first time. With the same stunning illustrations as the first two re-releases, it is a delightful world to discover. There is still time to pre-order and get all the goodies being offered by the publisher.

The epic Wingfeather Saga comes to a conclusion in this fourth book, The Warden and the Wolf King. This is a series that our whole family has enjoyed. It sparks the imagination of children and adults alike, and it inspires hope and courage in the face of difficulty and danger.

The Warden and the Wolf King provides great opportunities to talk with your children about right and wrong, courage, loyalty, doing the right thing, unconditional love, and sacrifice. There are good lessons to be learned throughout the pages of this book, and it is completely exciting and entertaining too! This is a series you don’t want to miss!

I hesitate to be too effusive in my praise, but I found this a rich, achingly beautiful, deeply affecting story. It contains depths of love, bravery, kindness, and compassion on the order of what's found in The Tale of Two Cities or Les Miserables. (There I go being too effusive.) The story is so much better than in the preceding volumes. Peterson did a great job withholding the ever-available deus ex machina card and stunned me with the unexpected actions of his characters.

I love stories that highlight the beauty of redemption and the power of grace. This is definitely one. This may be the wrong type of analysis, but The Warden and the Wolf King operates on the level of inaugurated eschatology.

The series gets progressively darker as it goes on, possibly reflecting what Peterson's own kids were able to handle as they grew up during the years he wrote. That poses a bit of a challenge for kids who might really get into the early books and want to blaze through the whole series, but me as an adult, loved!

trigger warning
<spoiler> ableism, grief, child abuse, domestic abuse, mentall illness, trauma </spoiler>

They've been running from an enemy that wants them dead until they can run no longer and have to fight.

This is probably my favourite book from the Wingfeather Saga because it feels the most rounded. Questions get answered, yes, but also, each of the Wingfeathers plays an important part, even Leeli, who for most of the time has been the younger disabled sister they have to lug around and protect.
Hard decisions were made for a better future.

I am glad I stayed till the end and saw them return to Anniera.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

An amazing conclusion to a wonderful series. The series starts off a little slow for me with the first book, but by the time one gets to this book, the tale has picked up both pace and depth. Such strong themes of heroism, sacrifice, love and family. I love it so much and will not stop talking about this series and its epic conclusion for a long time to come.

This book and the 4-book Saga as a whole, are in my personal top 5 books/series of all time. In fact, both my husband and I stole the book from the “read aloud” area so we could devour it faster. The 4-book journey is a beautiful, amazing, captivating, and heart-rending story of love, courage, redemption, family, and hope. I recommend them to so many friends.

I really fell in love with this series and it will be one that will remain in my memory for a long time. Following the children and their growth was really interesting and a little (a lot) heartwrenching, and seeing them in this final installment was very fullfilling.

But I can't deny that it made me cry quite a lot, especially at the end, but this isn't rare for me really so it's fine.

These books are one of my favorite YA series ever! I am an adult who loves YA fiction, particularly of a kind that is filled with such great character! I highly recommend these!