When your dad is human and your mum is the daughter of the God of Winter Winds, it certainly makes life interesting for Mara. Desperate to be accepted in the House of Winds but constantly ignored by the gods, she lives a lonely existence. When her father becomes gravely ill, she returns with him to his ancestral home, leaving the ice-cold palace behind.
His death a little while later hits her hard and she will do anything to get him back. Anything! Mara has a plan. With the help of her friend, the bear-child Torniv, they begin their journey to rescue her dad’s soul from Navia, the Slavic afterlife – no-one has ever returned but that doesn’t stop Mara taking a leap of faith.
With only forty days to get there, Mara and Torvin are up against wind demons, water sprites and many tricksters who thwart their every move. Their friendship is tested at every turn but they’re both aware of the stakes involved as they get ever nearer to their goal. Will they survive the journey over seas, through caves and snarling serpents? There’s only one way to find out.
‘The Wind Child’ is Gabriela Houston’s first novel for children following the success of her adult fantasy novel ‘The Second Bell’. Intricate illustrations on every page by Alexis Snell make this novel a work of art. Mara’s story takes the reader on an insightful journey into Slavic folkore and the Polish heartlands that Gabriela has known all her life.
