Book Review: Foxlight by Katya Balen

This one looked pretty interesting to me. Spoilers ahead.

Two orphaned sisters, Rey and Fen, set out on a quest to find their mother in the wilderness. They keep following a red fox that seems to lead the way for them, and during their journey they try to imagine what their mother is like and encounter various perils. Will they succeed in finding their mother?

I think this was a rather good book with a childlike, dreamlike feel to it. It's not a fantasy, but it certainly has fantastical and imaginative vibes to it. It's written from the point of view of one of the twins, and it does truly feel like a kid is telling you this story, complete with the imaginative scenarios she and her sister come up with, and the structuring of the sentences and chapters. I really applaud the author for managing to create great vibes and atmosphere in this book.

The two main characters were also quite good. Both undergo changes throughout the story and their arcs were handled well. They both deal with their situation, not knowing who they are or where they came from or who their mother is, in their own unique ways, and it feels realistic. Other characters such as Lissa are also nice, however, I did wish she and the other orphan kids were in the book a little more. The vast majority of the book is just Fen and Rey in the wilderness, which is fine, but after a while I did miss the rest of our cast a bit. They're really only there at the very beginning and end of the story.

The book deals with themes such as (adopted) family relations and abandonment, and it handles these themes rather well. The conclusion to the sisters' journey was a bit, well, inconclusive, since they don't end up finding any answers to who their mother is and why they were abandoned, and in most stories I feel that would annoy me. 

But in this book I'm kinda okay with it. Aside from it feeling realistic (not every journey will end conclusively), it also just feels like it fits in with the tone of the book and it ties into the final conclusion of the sisters realizing they already have a family in Lissa and the other orphans beautifully. So maybe satisfying is maybe not the right word to use for the final conclusion, but at the same time it is handled well.

Overall a great read. Love the characters, love the journey, love the feel and atmosphere. I think, aside from the other characters not being in the book much, the only thing I could really see be an issue is the unconventional structuring of some of the sentences (with some being really drawn out). It didn't put me off, but I can see it being annoying for some to read. But to me it only added to the atmosphere and childlike feel of the book.

Rating: 4/5