Thank you TH Lenen for an Advanced reader copy of this book. I was surprised by how much I liked it!! I think the setting of the book and the characters really allowed for this book to shine and for the reader to get invested in the life of Ogma. I don't necessarily know of I would view this as strictly YA, as it can be viewed a bit on the younger side, but either way. I think the chapters were a bit too long and didn't allow the suggested break-up of the book for readers, but that didn't detract from the enjoyment of the book for the most part.

Will by purchasing for my young adult section in my library!!

First of all this cover is to die for! Simply beautiful.

The story of Ogma and her friends is full of mystery, danger, and friendship at every corner.

I can't wait to read more stories built in this world. I want to know what happened and why the world moves and the fog changes things.

The kids in this story truly take the lead. I loved each of them, and y'all that ending!

It is a quick read as the story pulls you through this magical changing world.

I always start with the positive because I believe that should always come first, and please remember that everything is only my humble opinion, and others will feel differently. I want you to know that I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, however, any time I read and my editor brain kicks on it takes me out of the story. The writing was great, the story was great, but it could've been so much stronger. I made several pages of notes while I was reading that I would love to give to the author just to help their writing be stronger because this story captured my heart from beginning to end, so please know that this is only because I want to help, not hinder. Since a large portion of readers are not writers themselves these things will most likely not matter to them, again, it's an editor brain thing and there will be grammatical errors in every novel, it's not possible to have a novel free of errors.

All that said... Please pick up a copy of this book and read it with your kids—it is listed as YA, but I would say if a parent is reading to the child, it could also be appropriate for ages 10-12 (parents know their kids best, so you'll know if it's right for them.) But truly, it is a beautiful read.

#fogandfireflies #NetGalley

'Fog & Fireflies' is the secret lovechild of 'Adventure Time' and 'Over the garden wall' in book form. Charming and quirky and scary, with lore deeper than it seems at the beginning.

Overall, it reminded me a lot of other stories like 'Coraline' or 'Pan's Labyrinth', in that I can see many adults saying that this book is 'too scary for children' when what they actually mean is that they themselves got scared. I certainly did! And it was GREAT.

As fascinating as this book is, it does have some amateurish cons. I will point the problems out, but just know that if these are not deal-breakers, I earnestly recommend reading it:

1. The initial cast is way too big - the book throws like 20 named characters at the reader right at the start and expects them to be told apart, remembered and cared about. Yeah, not gonna happen. And soon enough the story starts focusing on a portion of them, so you can get the gist of the story even if you don't remember the rest of them.

2. The pace is irregular, with the book taking its sweet time when explaining lore or showing us cool places and situations, then changing to neck-breaking speed whenever the plot is advanced. I enjoyed this, but other people might not.

3. The ending is confusing, it should have been explained in more detail. Given how the 'final twist' is so heavily telegraphed, it is weird to leave the reader to put together the pieces to get the timeline right after the book is over.

This is first in a series of books taking place in the same universe, and I can't wait for the rest to come out to get myself lost again in their fog.

Thank you T.H. Lehnen and NetGalley for an arc!

The cover caught my attention immediately. Wasn’t sure what to make of it but I was intrigued.

The beginning and foundations of this story are fantastic. I enjoyed learning about the village and the systems they use. The mysteries kept me hooked. The different types of people and creatures were fascinating.

Ogma is a great FMC and I adored her innocence and bravery.

The pacing did drop for me at about halfway through. I would definitely read from this author again!

The title lured me in, the plot and the characters grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into a world I did not know I needed.
Fog & Fireflies reads so beautifully and reminds me of Pan's Labyrinth with a sprinkle of Ghibli feeling.

A dark athmosphere with young characters that prove themselves to be so full of love and courage you just have to adore them.

The reading age is put down as 15 which I do find fair, as some parts of the story are very dark and somewhat scary. But fans of classical dark(er) fairy, of the 80s and 90s, it's a definite GO FOR IT!!

I was very into the first half of the story with the kids guarding the walls and the caravaners visiting but the second half felt like a completely different book. The tone switched from adventure and fun to a slog of a journey. The resolution felt rushed and I wish there had been a bit more time with Wheeler at the end.

Fog & Fireflies has everything you need to make up a great fantasy book; from amazing world building, adventure, fleshed out characters, and plenty of twists to keep you guessing, this book has it all. The authors words flow so easily and this book was a joy to read. The author paints a picture so well it's easy to visualize exactly what's going on. Looking forward to more from this author!

Ebook/Fantasy,: This book was okay and reminded me a lot of Carrie Vaugh's Bannerless series. I don't know why, but it did. This book is a utopian world, I guess, where children have all the power because they protect the town. At some point, the monsters that come with the fog can harm a child as they grow older. Sounds like a great set up for a fantastic book, The setting was slow to begin with. I expected more world building and explanation of the realm, but it never really happened for me.

Definitly something like I never read before, there is a fog something dark and twisted, there's a fierce young FMC called Ogma and the story is actually very well build, it was my first book from the author and that was the exact type of book that I would imagine my daughter reading when she's old enough

I enjoyed this book quite a bit.
The chapters were quite long and dragged a little bit every now and then but didn't take me out of the story at all. I enjoyed the world building, characters, adventures and magic. It made me think of The Labrinth, The Neverending Story, and even a bit of The Princess Bride. This ya fantasy is all about innocence, magic, adventure, and being brave.

Big thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ARC.

The world building is beautiful and there are a ton of loose ends that could be resolved elsewhere. I'm honestly hoping that it does turn into a series so that I can get a little bit of closure for certain storylines that I was interested to see.

The premise is that people live in "wandering" cities that sort of move about the world. In this world is a fog that "takes" adults. Once the fog takes them, they are essentially never seen again, although we do learn, they may be able to find their way back out, but at an unknown time. The children of the city have to keep watch on the wall, because the fog sneaks in to steal the adults away and the fog will not touch children.

The story is constructed essentially in 3 acts: The first one in the city, the second - with the Caravaners/Puppeteers, and the last - with the blots on the sprindles. There are huge and significant backstories to these groups and I feel almost cheated that we don't get them all.

I do have a little bit of an issue and it isn't particularly pointed at this book, but it certainly does fall under this problem. A lot of the books that I have seen lately that have been categorized as YA or even middle-grades might be too challenging for the kids that they are aimed at. While I can appreciate good world-building that is gradually explained throughout the action, you might lose your audience quickly if they aren't used to that style of writing. I know a lot of my students initially struggle with book-specific language.

Some plots I would like to see explored/wrapped up from this book:
-Where did the fog even come from/what's the point of it?
-How did the Third-to-Last end up becoming... a ... whatever she is now?
-What's going to happen with Dunkirk?
-Semane?
-Cole?
-Emma?
-Have all of the cities been destroyed by the end of the book?
-What was done about Faceless?
- Will we ever learn the backstory of Dunkirk's Brigade? Because we really should - they're frikkin' cool.

There are definitely other things, but I can't reveal much without spoilers. Point being, this book has far too much going on for it to not have other books set in this world. I look forward to reading them.

A debut YA epic fantasy novel that explores the question "why do we get more scared as we grow older". A unique story where children guard adults from the unseen dangers of a menacing fog and the lengths others will go to in order to protect themseves.. The pacing of this book was great and the storyline stood out as relatively novel, which is hard to do these days. At times it veers into beloved tropes, but does so in a way that is fresh rather than recycled. I am glad this is the first of a series and am looking forward to reading the next installment. Thank you to the publshers and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was so long, with that being said-I enjoyed myself! I was drawn to the cover-we all judge books by their cover.
I can appreciate the imagination that absolutely went into this! Spooky, cute, all of it! Thank you so much for allowing me to read!

A bizarrely refreshing take on the horrors hiding in the fog. Only children are safe from the fog, only they can fight the phantoms, only certain things ward off the fog: like fireflies. A world where adults hide behind the walls of their village as children patrol and control those walls and the fog that risks to destroy and move. Dying isn’t the only risk, entering the fog means you’ll end up somewhere else, with no way to navigate your way. Until Ogmas town is attacked, children are taken and she leaps into action to rescue those children, lost in the fog she finds more than she bargained for and the only thing to do is keep moving forward, learning and fighting for what’s right

Fast read. Good main characters. Didn’t see the end coming. Great world building. Liked it will read book 2

Looking for a read completely out of this world?
This book is set in another place where children protect society from magical Fog that seeks to do harm to adults. It is the first of more to be set in this magical place.
I found the description good, enough to keep me reading with plot twists stretched very far. Almost too far for me and connected by a single thread at times. The chapters are very long and it takes a long time to get from one action point to the next. Everything does tie together in the end in a twist I didn't see coming, but if you are driven by action instead of curiosity of a few points seemingly left loose to see if they pick up again you may not stay til the end.
Overall this wasn't a bad book but the pace was not right for me. I enjoyed learning about the world and the connections each part had. I look forward to seeing what else comes from the land of fireflies and fog.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The book Fog & Fireflies by T.H. Lehnen, published on April 11, 2024, is, at its simplest, about a young girl lost in the fog. But to leave it at that would be a disservice to you and to the book.

This is a captivating, immersive novel about found family and the struggles of growing out of your childhood and family home. Its characters are well-developed, its settings distinct, weaving together to build a world of darkness, fear, and undiscovered magic.

"This is why we watch the fog." The fog is almost sentient. It laps at the walls of town, taunting and sneaking its way around the town's defenses, its only aim to kill the adults. Only the children, whom the fog cannot touch, can keep the fog from destroying their town.

Ogma, at fourteen, is on the precipice of adulthood. She feels the burdens and fears of the adults but understands the children better; patrolling the walls and living amongst other children is all she's known. The idea of leaving the wall and the children and her life on the wall behind is more terrifying than the taunting, murderous fog could ever be. Or so she thinks.

When Ogma finds a foreign young man outside their walls one night, her daring rescue sets into motion events that lead beyond the safety of the walls and into the fog.

Thrust into an ever-shifting landscape where she quickly discovers not to trust even the ground beneath her feet, Ogma struggles to survive with nothing but her wits and her talent for making friends to keep her safe. Her only drive is to find her way back to the people and the life she left behind, but as the fog shifts around her, she learns to live outside the walls and begins to question the life she knew.

This book is a strong four stars. As stated above, Fog & Fireflies possesses engaging characters, solid worldbuilding, and an imaginative and clever plot.

There are a lot of characters in this book. We don't see most of them for very long, but each of them is distinct and memorable. I had no difficulty following and empathizing with the different characters throughout the book, which is quite a feat, considering the first few chapters introduce at least fifteen different characters, most of them children.

Ogma, the main character, is introduced as a brave and fearless child who's not afraid to question the adults and lead the other children, though she's not the one in charge. Her fearlessness is a key trait throughout the book, but there are times when she throws tantrums or sulks as children and teenagers are wont to do, and it's a pointed reminder of how young she is.

Wheeler, a pivotal side character, is the oldest of the children on the wall and is defined by his fear early on, which means to many in town that he's too old to still be on the wall with the children. While he possesses many strong leadership traits and does his best to lead the children well and safely, his fear in the face of the fog is stronger.

Dunkirk, another pivotal side character, is foreign to the fog and the town. When Ogma saves him outside the wall of the town, he doesn't know them or their language. All he wants is to return to his friends, but he knows there's no way back to where he was, especially since he can't communicate with anyone. His character is a good balance between Ogma's drive and Wheeler's caution: he wants to go back to what he knew before, but he knows he can't, and that makes him cautious of what lies ahead in case something like that happens again.

A sidenote on Dunkirk: he speaks a different language, and we can't understand what he's saying for a large portion of the book. Normally, these instances are either translated by another character or outright in the book. That alone might not have been an issue for me, but I knew from a previous review that he speaks Norwegian. So from the moment he's introduced, I had a translator ready. This meant that I was taken out of the story every time he speaks to translate his words. A distraction like that is huge for me, as I want to be immersed in the story and not taken out every other sentence to translate dialogue. It would have been better for me if I'd let the foreign language be and just gone without knowing what the character was saying.

Additionally, I thought the language barrier was solved too easily. The way it's solved shows us several useful and important things about the story: character development for newly introduced characters, worldbuilding about the magic system, plot device for later in the story. But at that point in the narrative, the issue's resolution doesn't feel earned to me.

Regarding the worldbuilding: I love the idea of the fog and how it functions. Establishing not a physical enemy, but an uncontrollable and unbeatable outside force, creates a separate tension from the main storyline, which in turn raises the stakes since all decisions must be made with this force in mind. It adds a layer of tension to every choice, no matter how small.

It's a world of sleeping gods and lurking dangers, where every decision must be made with care and any careless choice can lead to much larger consequences, as our main character discovers the hard way.

This book contains content warnings for minor blood, animal bones, child labor, death, forced captivity, kidnapping, parentification, serious injury, and violence. I recommend this book for YA fans of epic fantasy, dark mythology, and the found family trope. Anyone who loves getting lost in the woods, self-discovery, primordial monsters, or ancient lore will love this book.

A complicated story with a sprawling cast of characters, Fog & Fireflies leads you into a richly imagined world with a deep lore I love a fantasy that throws readers in the deep end and lets them put together the pieces as they are doled out, allowing the mystery to unfold in an exciting way but keeping you instep along the way. The Ghibli esqu comparisons are very apt, many of the descriptions of beasts and monsters would fit right along side the creatures in Princess Mononoke. The end frustrated me a little bit as the movement of characters through time muddled the previously clear rules of magic, but I am still eager to see what happens next as the story advances.

i really enjoyed the art provided throughout the book! However I've given it a three star rating because the book took awhile to set the scene and there seemed to be a lot of additional filler. I really enjoyed the characters and enjoyed when everything came out in the end. I did hope there would be more closure in the end but i was still satisfied.

arc provided by netgalley

This is a fun and spooky fantasy story, with interesting world building and lovable characters. You really felt for the kids, having to take on so much responsibility and keep everyone safe. And the dynamics between the older kids like Wheeler and the younger ones was so sweet and nice to read. This really did evoke similar emotions as when i watch Miyazaki movies or other favorite fantasy movies from my childhood.