The Mysterious Forest (The Warriors of Nyx #1) by Yvette Poshoglian and Chad Mitchell

Title: The Mysterious Forest (The Warriors of Nyx #1)

Author: Yvette Poshoglian and Chad Mitchell

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Australia

Published: 1^st November 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 192

Price: $16.99

Synopsis: The Realms of Nyx have been peaceful … until now. Short-eared elf Dru is a warrior in training. Long-ear Bren is an apprentice mage. Their two tribes have been taught to distrust each other. But when their families and entire villages suddenly disappear, Dru and Bren only have one choice: to join forces and enter the Mysterious Forest in search of those they love. According to legend, the forest is full of terrifying and mysterious occurrences and creatures. Dru and Bren have zero reason to trust each other. To make matters worse, neither elf has ever dared to enter the forest alone. And if their villages have been taken by the soul suckers, as they suspect, then entering the forest is the worst thing they can do. Will they be able to find their loved ones, or will they disappear into the forest without a trace? Or worse, be taken by the soul suckers?

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Nyx…a land of elves, where there are short-ears and long-ears, whose lives and worlds, whose tribes have been enemies for a long time. Dru, the short-eared elf, is training as a warrior. The long-eared Bren is an apprentice mage. They’re thrown together when everyone in their villages go missing, and they set off to find them in the Mysterious Forest.

They’re up against a forest where legends talk about terrifying and mysterious things that happen, so Bren and Dru are uncertain about then mission, the forest and each other. They really don’t need to trust each other either, but they are going to have to if they want to find their families and villages.

What makes it worse? Neither has dared enter the forest alone. Why would you when there are terrifying stories, scary creatures and legends about the strange things that happen in the forest? It makes sense not to do that. They’re starting to suspect that the soul suckers have taken their families, which makes their quest a bit more dangerous and a bit more uncertain. What is really going on? How are they going to find out what happens?

The Mysterious Forest kicks off a new series by Yvette Poshoglian, which is very different to her other work. It’s fantasy, and aimed at an older audience than Ella and Olivia, and Puppy Diaries, so it’s great to see Yvette doing something different, and I was totally captured by this fantasy quest series. It’s very much like what I read and would have enjoyed reading as a nine-year-old, and I was instantly transported to their world. And, I was also swept up in the story, into a new world in much the same way I was, and still am, with Narnia.

And what a first book this is. Things build up to certain elements as Dru and Bren begin their quest to find their families and villages, and find out what has happened to them and why. Things are not going to be that easy though, as nobody can help them. They have to do it all on their own. Everything was cleverly used, and put in place to set up what needs to happen in the series, which looks like it is going to be exciting and magical.

Much of the first book sets up Bren and Dru through alternating chapters as they make their way through the Mysterious Forest to find out what is going on, and why the soul suckers might be after them and their tribes. And because they have to work together, they might just change the way their tribes see each other, because each has their own strengths to bring to the mission and quest.

It’s a planned series, so this one ends on a cliffhanger leading our intrepid duo into an unknown that will lead them to the truth, to the soul suckers and eventually saving their villages. I do wonder what else Yvette has in store for them, and what they will have to go through. It’s got a great balance of danger and uncertainty but without being too dramatic for younger readers. I do hope readers love this novel, because I did and I am eager to see what happens next.