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

This cover is so utterly charming that there really wasn’t any way I could not read this book. Unicorns and dragons and phoenixes, oh my! Mix that with some heartwarming sibling bonds and yes, right onto my TBR it went.

Curse of the Phoenix is an adventure filled with mythical creatures, dark family secrets, and plenty of adventure, featuring sibling bonds, chronic illness rep, and a heartwarming story about grief and healing.

I came for the adventure but was pleasantly surprised to find that this also has chronic illness rep (which I hadn’t realized). One of the protagonists has asthma and severe allergies to . . . well, most things, actually. It’s the sibling bonds, though, that really stole the show with this one! Zac and Lu make quite the team, and I loved going on this adventure with them.

My Thoughts

- Animal lovers are sure to love all the mythical creatures that call the Wildewood home! They’re mythical, they’re magical, and sometimes they’re quite dangerous. After all, what would be an adventure without a bit of danger, right? The creatures that live in the Wildewood, as Lu and Zac’s family stresses, are wild. There are those that are less likely to harm humans, certainly, but that doesn’t make them tame. I particularly enjoyed this distinction, as well as the healthy dose of respect given to the creatures and the fact that the humans are trespassing on their habitat and they’re just responding as they do. Lu, especially, as an animal lover who’s used to approaching wild animals (generally in the form of stray cats and the like, of course) repeatedly reminds Zac that you shouldn’t just walk up to an animal you don’t know. I’m especially partial to this narrative because it’s something I need to remind Minion all the time! There’s a little of everything when it comes to creatures, from unicorns to dragons to centaur and all sorts of things in between. I would’ve enjoyed spending a little more time in the Wildewood and learning more about the creatures. I feel like there are a lot mentioned, but they’re sort of episodic and in passing. Still, it’s a wonderful setting for a middle grade book, and certainly somewhere I’d love to visit. I can easily imagine middle grade readers will be as charmed as I was with this world!

- After the death of their mother, Lu and Zac spend the summer with family they didn’t even know they had on their mother’s side . . . and this family isn’t without its secrets. The dark kind. Carter does such a wonderful job building up tension and suspense around these secrets. When Zac and Lu arrive at their family’s mansion (because how’s that for a surprise?!), they soon realize things aren’t quite what they seem. Never mind the fact that their mother never even told them that she had family (which is kind of a big omission), but the family seems divided on whether the twins should be there in the first place. Lu especially is really good at eavesdropping (and honestly, what kid isn’t?!), which makes for some interesting overheard conversations! I don’t know if it was just me being utterly oblivious, but I didn’t even guess the couple of family plot twists in the book, and I was pleasantly surprised when they were revealed! I may have suspected a few different things, but I’m always a fan when plot twists sneak up on me but still make sense at the same time. I mean, they’re not major plot twists, but they definitely change the feel of the book in a couple places, which is always fun! I do enjoy a book that keeps me guessing.

- There’s a beautiful theme of grief and healing, both among adults and the twins, at the loss of their mother. It’s guaranteed to tug at heart strings! The book is set shortly after Zac and Lu’s mother dies suddenly. Zac, unfortunately, is the one who finds her collapsed on the kitchen floor, and he has a lot of grief and trauma around that. Not to mention the guilt, as misplaced as it is, that he didn’t take better care of his mother or look after her more. The stages of grief that Lu and Zac go through just tugs my heart strings. What I love the most is that they eventually need to come together to help each other forgive themselves and understand that it’s neither of their faults. It isn’t just the kids grieving, though. Their father is, too, and that was probably the hardest part for me to read. Their father does some really crappy things, like shipping them off to family they didn’t know in the summer. It made me so freaking angry, but at the same time, it was clear he was basically having a nervous breakdown at that point. I think this is such an interesting plot point that I don’t see in middle grade that much, and it’s so important! Adults grieve, too, and they need permission and space to do so. And sometimes they make choices they later regret while they’re grieving.

- The sibling bonds in this book are so fraught with tension and grief and emotion that as much as I enjoyed the adventure, I think I enjoyed Lu and Zac working through their grief together the most in this book. I’m sure middle grade readers will probably disagree with me . . . unless they’ve experienced grief and loss themselves? I’m a big advocate for books that tackle this, because most middle grade readers will lose someone in their lives. The way Zac and Lu fall apart after their mother’s death and then slowly grow together is just *chef’s kiss*. All the feels. The healing process is even further complicated by the fact that Zac is chronically ill, which means a lot of things can make him sick or even prove to be fatal. For Lu, the idea of losing her brother after losing her mother is extra terrifying, and she goes into ultra protective mode. Her mother isn’t around to take care of Zac anymore, so it falls to her, of course. For Zac, he harbors a bunch of guilt over his limitations and fears he’s holding his sister back. He’s also often frustrated about his illness and the things he can’t do. Both of them have such valid and relatable fears, and watching them grow together and heal each other was so rewarding!

After their mother’s death, Zac and Lu’s father sends them to London for the summer to stay with family they’ve never met. There, they find out that the Wildewoods of their mother’s stories is real, and so are the creatures within. They also learn about the curse on their family. While they enjoy helping to care for the unicorns and baby dragons, there is much danger to be found in the Wildewoods.

This is an exciting story of adventure and fantastic creatures, but it is also a story of love, family, and grief. Though Zac and Lu are twins, they are different, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Now they must work together if they are to help save the Wildewoods.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Curse of the Phoenix by Aimee Carter is a middle grade fantasy novel.
Following the death of their mother, twins Zac and Lu, are sent by their father to relatives in England from their mom’s side of the family. Zac, who is allergic to basically everything under the sun and suffers severe asthma, is worried about being away from his home and the medical care he’s grown used to. Lu is worried about being far from her best friend and the animals she’s taken under her wing to care for.
Upon arriving their reception from their family is frostier than they expected and secrets are kept inside the home. Zac and Lu quickly discover that the tales their mother used to share about the Wildewoods weren’t just tales but truth, a place where all sort of mythical creatures exist, and not just exist but are taken care of by their family.
Not everything is rainbows and unicorns, all though there are plenty of unicorns, but plenty of dangers lurk around the Wildewoods and a curse has plagued their family for generations. It’s up to the twins to discover the link to the past and break the curse before they become irrevocably tied to the Wildewoods.
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This was a fun book. Zac and Lu are very different from one another. Zac, due to all his health problems, rarely goes out and spent most of his time growing up hanging out with his mom, most of the stories of the Wildewoods have been shared with him and he has started to create a graphic novel based on the stories his mom told him.
Because so much time and attention was focused on Zac’s health Lu grew up a bit wild and incredibly independent and while she absolutely loves her brother and family she has a small nugget of resentment, understandably, that shades how she interacts with her brother. She’s always keeping an eye on him and is ready to step in to assist with his care but also really longs to be outside and around animals which is hard when her brother is so allergic to everything.
They don’t necessarily make the best decisions throughout the book but with the rest of the family constantly holding back information from them they can’t be entirely blamed for all their choices. I enjoyed that it was a story focused on family, particularly siblings, and it appears to be a standalone, or at least this story can certainly stand on its own if the author does decide to continue in this world.
It is certainly a book I would recommend to young readers looking for a fun exciting adventure to consume.