Seven Wherewithal Way: Over the Mountains and Through the Desert by Samantha-Ellen Bound

Title: Seven Wherewithal Way: Over the Mountains and Through the Desert

Author: Samantha-Ellen Bound

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Affirm Press

Published: 26^th March 2024

Format: Paperback

Pages: 416

Price: $18.99

Synopsis: Celeste Barden is about to face her biggest challenge yet.Celeste, Esme, Logan and Ferd are summoned to the Realm of Mountains to answer for the part they’ve played in the growing rebellion, and Celeste soon finds herself in a brand-new kind of trouble. Separated from her cousin and forced to work with the trickster Pan, Celeste must navigate the wild landscape, dodge dangerous creatures, find Ferd, save a Guardian, recover a hagstone and rescue a friend. No pressure.And this adventure is just the beginning. A shocking discovery in the Realm of Mountains changes everything, and when Wherewithal seeks allies in the Realm of Desert, they find the outpost in chaos and a deadly creature on the prowl. The Realms have never been so perilous – and Celeste has never had quite so much to lose.Return to the Realms of Seven Wherewithal Way in this magical and action-packed third instalment in Samantha-Ellen Bound’s epic portal fantasy series.

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Celeste, Esme and Gran are heading back to Wherewithal Way, just as Celeste and Esme’s parents head off on a holiday. Ferd and Logan have asked for their help, and the four of them – Celeste, Ferd, Logan, and Esme are summoned to the Realm of the Mountains. Why? There are those who want answers about the quartet’s role in the rebellion in the Realms. And things are not going to be so simple. Celeste is separated from her cousin and must work with trickster Pan across the wild landscape to dodge dangerous creatures, find Ferd, save a Guardian, and all while she seeks to recover a hagstone and rescue a friend – so no pressure, right?

As Celeste and her crew go on their journey, there are a few shock discoveries that change the way they see things and experience Wherewithal Way. It raises questions about what has really happened, what is really going on, and who they can trust. Which creatures they can trust. Each creature is drawn from a myth, and the story uses the myth and stories to build these figures that come in and out of the novel and make Celeste and her friends question things p what is real, and what isn’t? What are they imagining, who can they trust beyond their group, and who is going to put them in danger? These questions crop up throughout the novel as the adventure and quest is woven through the story, as Celeste grapples with having to be the one who has to save everyone. She’s becoming more confident, but is still reluctant at times and unsure of what she is truly capable of.

The Seven Wherewithal Way series and world is embroidered and cobbled together with a wide and diverse range of world mythologies across the series, used in ways that are loyal to the original myths but that also captures something innovative through the main characters. It is a portal world, one where there is some back and forth, and where the portal world and real world seem to be coming dangerously close together. Much like the previous two novels, the stakes get higher and higher, and more intense – to the point that a tragedy unsettles things – but Celeste knows Wherewithal all too well and starts to question what she has been told – even by Pa, the trickster who does come through when he needs to at times. The banter he has with Celeste gives the series some of its levity, especially at times when we need to be reminded of the good or funny things, or when Celeste and Esme need to find a way through tough times, and he also gives them good reality checks, bringing their minds back to the quest.

Danger is ever-present – there’s the rebellion that Ferd has been accused of starting, and all manner of creatures and mythical beings who want to harm anyone they can. Who want to push Ferd, Celeste, and Esme out of Wherewithal and the Realms. It’s a strange alliance in this novel, and Celeste and Esme’s sibling relationship is evolving in some ways but in others, hasn’t changed at all. That’s what makes this series work so well – the things that change, and the things that don’t, because it brings so much to life in complex ways that make the series work well. Even though this is targeted at middle grade readers, I think its best suited for upper middle grade and confident readers, and I think readers of the series will adore this addition, which is the second-last in the series. It allows the child characters to have autonomy whilst the parents are still around, but conveniently sent away for the duration of the novel. This allows Esme and Celeste to go on their adventures, and I loved all the ups and downs. Everything in this novel is there on purpose, and is there to create tension and a range of dynamics that bring everything together and is something that makes this series special and unique for its fans.

This is a wonderful novel for fans of the series, and this is a great addition to the series, and I am looking forward to the next and final book in the series.