In a Nutshell: A fun magical adventure story for tweens. Goes exactly as per formula, but little ones will enjoy it. I wish it had had more surprises along the way.

Story Synopsis:
Aria has grown up in a castle amid the clouds with her parent/guardian (the exact relationship is never clarified), Wind. She spends her days up in the skies with her best friend Gwyn, a young gryphling. However, her happy routine is suddenly disrupted when, one morning, she awakens to discover the Wind missing, and their lovely floating castle lying on the ground. When Aria and Gwyn go looking for Wind, they discover that Wind has been held captive, and only if they complete three quests set out by the kidnapper will the Wind be set free. Now it is up to Aria and Gwyn to save the Wind. But can they trust the kidnapper’s word?
The story is written in the first person perspective of Aria.

Bookish Yays:
🐉 Enjoyed the representation of the four natural elements through the characters and the magical talismans.
🐉 Plenty of adorable magical animals for children, including a gryphling and a dragon.
🐉 Fast-paced.
🐉 Lots of adventures, courtesy Aria’ quest.
🐉 The Wind uses the they/them pronouns, and this is done naturally in the flow of the story without hammering the pronouns or representation into our head. Well done!
🐉 That gorgeous cover! Perfect for the book!

Bookish Nays:
👾 The story goes almost like a paint-by-numbers adventure. I wish it had pushed the envelope a bit.
👾 The biggest problem with Aria was that she refused to ask for help when it would have been beneficial and even sensible. Self-dependence can go too far at times. We shouldn't resist help if it works for the better, especially when friends offer it. Aria does learn her lesson, but it comes too late in the plot. And even then, she is still the sole saviour of the day. Teamwork and trusting of friends gets a very secondary role in this book.
👾 The three quests ended up being quite straightforward than dangerous and difficult. For something supposed to be a tricky riddle, each task was surprisingly easy for Aria to figure out.
👾 There's a difference between being brave and being foolhardy, and I wish children's fiction upgrades itself to highlight this distinction. A couple of decades ago, jumping into the action without second thought would have been okay for children's adventures. But times have changed and rash decisions are today more risky than rewarding. So the message coming from such stories also needs to be updated. One cannot stop seeing the wood for the trees.
👾 How exactly is Aria connected to the Wind? Was she their actual daughter? Was she chosen by them as their protégée? Some background detailing would have helped, especially considering how little Aria actually knew about her guardian as against the other ‘-lings’ in the story.

All in all, I would have adored this story had I read it when I was in my tweens. As an adult, I still found it decent but I did expect to be more thrilled considering that this is my go-to genre when I am looking for a quick light read. Of course, the book wasn’t written for people of my age, so my feedback shouldn’t be of main importance. I think kids will enjoy the characters and the adventures. And I hope that through Aria’s mistakes, they learn not to handle treacherous situations with impetuousness.

3 stars from adult me, but at least 4.5 stars from the ‘me’ of three decades ago. Averaging the two ratings.

3.75 stars.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Kids and NetGalley for the DRC of “A Breath of Mischief”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

A Breath of Mischief tells the story of Aria a windling and her gryphling companion, Gwyn, who decide to search for their father Wind who has mysteriously disappeared.
They are deceived by a human who has kidnapped Wind and very innocently set out to find the objects they need to free Wind.
A book suitable to read to a small child before bed, with several life lessons that every child should learn. Or for children at heart...
I thank the author, Sourcebooks Young Readers, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

A Breath of Mischief by MarcyKate Connolly, 224 pages. Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2023. $17.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Aria is a windling, living in her cloud castle with her parent, the Wind, and her gryphling friend, Gwyn. But then they wake up one morning with cloud castle on the ground and no breeze to be felt. They must find the Wind and nothing is going to stop Aria from completing her quest.
Each element is a parent in this story, and Connolly’s imaginative personification of them in Aria’s world is breathtaking. Aria’s self-imposed quest highlights the pros and cons of her determination, teaching readers valuable lessons alongside the characters.
Aria is depicted as White on the cover, but she is described as “pale” but with a “faint bluish tinge” in the text. The violence rating is for fantasy violence.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I received an electronic ARC from SOURCEBOOKS Kids through NetGalley.
Connolly creates a world where the four elements - wind, earth, water, fire - care for and nurture the people and creatures in their realm. Sadly, one of them vanishes and their special otherling, Aria, sets off to figure out what happened. She and her gryphling, Gwyn, are given a quest to bring three treasures to the one who captured Wind. Though successful in retrieving the three items, they trigger a much larger crisis that involves the other elements and their otherlings. All four must work together to save the world. As expected, by the end of the book, the elements are back where they belong and the four otherlings have moved toward friendship.
The story unfolds exactly as expected from an "upbeat fairy tale." The text is simple to follow, and readers will predict what happens next as the book progresses. I liked this tale but did not feel it moved beyond the obvious for the genre. A simple read that upper elementary will appreciate as an introduction to tales and myths.

"A Breath of Mischief" is about the young Aria who was rised by the wind. One morning the wind disappeares and Aria and her flying friend Gwyn go on an adventure to rescue the wind.

I requested this book because the story sounds interesting and one of my reading goals for 2023 was to read more fantasy.

The story itself was pretty short and very fast paced, but it worked really well for the story. The chapters also were pretty short. I almost rushed through the story and couldn't put it down.

The plot was predictable for me but I still enjoyed the story and reading it. The end sadly felt a bit rushed.

I think this book would have a good possibilitie to become an interesting story.

This book reminded me from the vibe a lot of "Howls moving castle" and I highly recommend it to every youg and old fantasy fan!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Kids for this EARC!

Aria is raised by the Wind. She grew up in a castle, floating among the clouds with creatures of the air. She spends her days racing and soaring through the sky with her best friend, Gwyn, a young gryphling. At night, she falls asleep to the music of the Wind.
One morning, Aria is woken by a frantic Gwyn. The chimes are silent, there is not a breath of breeze, and their castle has settled on the ground. The Wind has vanished.
Aria and Gwyn go on a desperate search only to discover the Wind is being held captive by a sinister alchemist named Worton. To free the Wind, Aria and Gwyn must complete a series of trials to find and retrieve three magical talismans for Worton. 
Nothing will keep Aria from rescuing the element who raised her—not a riddle, not a quest, not a race against time. Except Worton can't be trusted, and it's not just the Wind that needs saving...

This was a magical, mysterious read that gave me fairytale/ Ancient Greek story vibes. It was filled with beautiful and atmospheric settings, enigmatic and intriguing characters and all wrapped up with an adventurous and tense plot.

I loved the worlds that Connolly created, I could really picture flying though them and spending time with Aria and Gwynn trying to help them solve and beat the trials to recuse the missing wind. A heartwarming and adventurous read that many will love.

Loved it! I'd say this has been a fresh read and a new concept in the middle grade spanning variation of natural element power sources.

All the characters are well laid playing their roles at brilliance. It felt like I'm watching a movie.

Must read! even if you are too old to read.

Thank you to the publisher for this free ARC, but unfortunately A Breath of Mischief was a miss rather than a hit for me. I don’t believe the intended audience, which I assume is middle grade, would be into it either.

The novel follows a girl named Aria, who is a child of the Wind element, as she goes on an adventure to save her “parent” after they are captured. Aria is helped by a magical griffyn and other elemental children along the way.

I found Aria an uninteresting character and the events of the book too simple with the difficult scenarios being too easily and quickly solved. It was way too fast paced even for a children’s book. And as other reviewers have mentioned, there were plot holes noticeable even by children. This could possibly be an easy, fun read-aloud for ages 7-10 but I would not recommend it to anyone.

An entertaining story for the younger reader. We usually read as a group (5-15) plus Grandma. The younger two children enjoyed the book but the older ones lost interest pretty quickly and started to discuss what the called plot holes (?) and they were not so keen on the main character (sorry, just reporting what they said). So great for the younger readers less so for the 9's and over. Personally I just loved the cover.

I was excited about diving into this one but gave up after the first chapters. (and that twice)
The world is inviting and the imagination alluring with the beautiful descriptions of the wind, the castle, and the world. The friendship is sweet and inspiring, and readers would want to have their own creature to go on adventures with.
But there are too many logic holes, which were immediately picked up by my own kids. This might work for young readers (ages 6 to 9) as a read-aloud, but I don't know of many middle graders who won't question a few things. Not only isn't it clear how the girl should ever take over Wind's place (she isn't wind...and why would Wind cease to exist?), but even simple aspects such as birds suddenly flying without wind(?) occur. And conclusions are drawn without any true links or thought-through. For example: the villagers want to take over the castle and live there (her thoughts just because the people stopped by and demanded to know the situation).
It's a sweet story, but it seems more situated for younger readers from the plot end, where they aren't aware of many things yet and can just accept it at said value. I see this as a lovely movie for younger audiences, but I almost feel as if this underestimates middle graders and talks down to them.

MarcyKate Connolly is always such a distinctive voice in MG fantasy. I've read almost all of her work, and was delighted to find that A BREATH OF MISCHIEF continues to uphold her brand of fun, heart, and (of course) magic.

This is the kind of world that would have enchanted me as a MG'er, bursting with magical creatures and contraptions and daring escapades. I loved the whimsy of Cloud Castle, and the burgeoning friendships Aria made along her travels.

However, Aria herself fell flat as a protagonist to me. The plot and worldbuilding felt similarly flimsy, strung together by a series of events that felt lucky at best, and egregiously coincidental at worst. We get pretty much no insight into the inner workings of this world, aside from snippets -- it's unclear how magic functions, what developmental/technological stage the world is at, or even how large of an area we're dealing with. If you squint, you can almost fill in the gaps. But overall I was left feeling unsatisfied, especially when comparing this book to some of the brilliant MG fantasy we've seen in recent years.

My 8yo loves fantasy novels (dragons are his favourite) and was very excited to read this! He says it was very interesting and would be interested in reading others in the series, but said he found the book a bit fast/short. He very much enjoyed the world building and unique characters. The cover is beautiful and captivating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks kids for this e-ARC!

This book was a amazing adventure story I liked so much about it from the characters to the story. The characters were so great to read about but I really loved Aria and her companion Gwyn most of all one being a girl raised by the wind the other being a gryphling and her companion. They both meet many other interesting characters along the way to freeing the Wind. The story is really good it starts out with Aria and co having a normal day only the worst to happen and for the Wind to disappear so they set out to find the Wind. They find that the Wind has been captured by a scientist named Worton and they have to bring things to free the Wind. So they set out to do this they meet other people raised by elements and others along the way they find these things but it does not get them the Wind back and the other elements disappear as well. So they set out to fix this they end up freeing them all and everything goes back to normal this book was good would read other books by this author.

Connolly has succeeded in creating yet another gorgeous “otherworld” people by “otherlings” - windlings, earthlings, waterling, and firelings. The primary character is Aria, a child of the wind who awakes one day to find the Wind is gone and her castle has descended to earth.

As in her other stories, Connolly creates a fascinating and unique quest for the four otherlings, resulting in a showdown with the villain.

Connolly’s work is a fantastic introduction to fantasy for early middle grade readers who cut their teeth on unicorns and dragons, and she’s a darn good storyteller!

Highly recommended.

A very easy and engaging read full of magic, suspense, and adventure!

Aria is a brave and at times, naïve young girl that young readers will like. She has that classic heroine trait that make up the most infamous female characters, however I found that with Aria there was nothing that made her stand out in character, finding her uninteresting.

I found the writing to be difficult to get into, but the plot was creative and the pacing was set at a good, even pace. There was nothing in the story that really gripped me.

The cover is gorgeous and definitely captures your attention. A daring ride with strong morals of friendship at it's heart, readers will find this a quick and simple story for a light-hearted fantasy adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks kids for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very classic fantasy set-up, a young girl on a quest for four magical objects, but it has some inventive aspects to the worldbuilding that made it very cute. I love the idea of the elements taking apprentices/adopted children, and the way the story combines folkloric elements with the main plotline is nicely done. I didn’t quite fall in love with the writing, but it’s a quick read and suits the pace. This is quite a sweet and light book so might be good for those at the younger end of the range. I also just love the cover for this – it’s so beautiful!

This cover is just too beautiful. I can't stop looking at it. I have been excited about this book for ages now, as I have adored MarcyKate and her books since her first one came out years ago. She always gets the best covers, ha. I was lucky enough to win a personalized ARC of this precious book, out next April.

I could not help but read it right away. It was such a quick and easy read. And I liked the story a whole lot. But I sadly did not love this book. I am giving it three stars. I found it to be pretty much adorable, with a few small faults. Will share a bit of this tale, but not too much. I highly suggest you all read it, though.

A Breath of Mischief tells the story of Aria, a young girl who live in the skies. She is a child of the Wind, an otherling. Aria have the power to float, and she does not really look human either. She has always lived in the skies with the Wind as her parent. With her friend, Gwyn. Whom is a young gryphling. Which was such an awesome creature. I love everything that flies, ha. And reading about Aria and Gwyn was pretty fun. I loved how great friends they were. This is a story of how the Wind suddenly disappears. And how this affects their whole world, not just Aria personally. She goes on an adventure to get the Wind back. Where she learns that the Wind has been captured, and she needs to go on a quest to find special treasures to get her Wind back.

I shall not say too much about what happens in this book, as it is short, and I don't want to spoil it all. But Aria makes some mistakes along the way of freeing the Wind. Which were a little obvious, but she was a bit too naive to realize that. And all she truly wanted was to get the Wind back, so she did not really care about anything else at first. It's a story about the elements, the Wind and the Water and the Earth and the Fire. We get to read a little of each, as they all have an otherling like Aria, for each element. I did like that.

Aria had always been in the skies, loving her life there. When the Wind was taken, she was forced to the ground, no longer able to float. Her castle of clouds falling down. She learned much more about the world during her days on the ground. How evil some men could be, how kind some women could be. She got some friends too, the other otherlings. We learn only a little about them, but I liked getting to know them too. Especially Bay of the Water. Wanted to know more about him. Enjoyed reading about Aria exploring.

This book was short, and everything happened fast. It was about Aria trying her best to save the Wind. Going on a quest to find three items, which was dangerous for her and Gwyn. I liked reading about the dragons they met. The reason this was a three star for me, was because I had issues with the writing. It felt awkward most of the time and I just did not manage to get lost in it. Which made me not care much about Aria either. But I did like this book a whole lot, even so. It did feel magical. A great small adventure.

Not only is this fantasy for middle grade readers exciting and filled with amazing mythological/fantastic characters, it fills an important and often overlooked niche in libraries: something between the fluffy, easy to read early reader fantasy books and those more for grades 4-6 that are complex and 300+ pages such as ones by Riordan and the like. At just over 200 pages, MarcyKate Connolly (Shadow Weaver and Hollow Dolls series) creates a quest to save the world from a greedy being who has captured talismans that allow him to take possession of the elemental powers of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water and ultimately, destroy the world. Aria, a child of the Wind, is the first to discover the plot when her “parent” disappears, their cloud castle settles onto the ground, and she is unable to float. As she and her young griffin Gwyn set out to find out what happened, readers will encounter other elemental children as well as creatures such as dragons and rocs. Naturally, with fewer pages, some will wish for more side plots, dangerous encounters, and greater character development, but there are plenty of all of those in A Breath of Mischief and most will not miss a thing. Highly recommended for all middle grade collections. No profanity or sexual content and violence is limited to some rough handling by a band of thieves and some tree roots with aggressive tendencies! The elements of Wind, Earth, Fire, and Water are referred to using plural pronouns which is less an LBGTQ+ reference and more likely due to the genderless quality of those entities.

Marcykate Connolly is a new to us author. What a fun book A breath of Mischief is. It’s entertaining for middle aged kids all the way to adults, which is a hard feat to do. Well done!

Oh my the book was just gorgeously done! I love the world building!

It started with a whirlwind of information at first but it all tied-up well. It was all worth it. The adventure of the characters was fun and I will truly remember them and the journey they went through. The book already ended but I would truly love to read more.