Ottilie Colter and the Withering World

Description

In the breathtaking final instalment of the middle-grade fantasy series the Narroway Trilogy, all will be revealed ... and not everything is as it seems. Ottilie and her friends are members of the Narroway Hunt, a secret organisation that trains children to kill bloodthirsty monsters called dredretches. Now, the huntsmen are under attack - by something far worse than dredretches. A witch is cursing them one by one, making them unwilling participants in a vengeful scheme. But what, exactly, is she planning - and will Ottilie have to join her to find out? The thrilling conclusion to a much-loved trilogy about friendship, changing loyalties and never, ever giving up.

Rhiannon Williams is an Australian author who grew up in Taradale, Victoria. She studied English and history at the University of Sydney, and completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts Honours at Flinders University. Rhiannon has a background in theatre and hopes to tell stories until the end of her days. Her debut novel, Ottilie Colter and the Narroway Hunt, was the first middle-grade novel to win the Ampersand Prize. It is part of a trilogy that has since been published internationally. Her latest middle-grade novel is Dusty in the Outwilds.

'In the conclusion to the Narroway Trilogy, Ottilie faces the culmination of a long plot to destroy the kingdom. After the bone singers' betrayal and the attack on Fort Richter, the sculkie squad has been elevated to fledgling huntsmen and made into a new order named after historical princess Seika Devil-Slayer. But many of Ottilie's friends are in crisis-cursed Scoot is slowly petrifying into heartstone and will die if they can't find a cure; mysterious goedl Bill is being held captive; and Ned is having strange dreams, sleepwalking, and suffering ominous complications with his burns. The heightened threats from the bloodbeasts and their puppet master Whistler bring King Varrio Sol and his army out to the Narroway to head off the invasion. The bloody Sol family history, from Seika to Whistler to Varrio's own progeny, is delved into as it's intrinsically linked to the monstrous dredretches. All the while, Whistler attempts to recruit Ottilie, leaving her struggling with what Whistler's fondness for her says about herself. Heavy amounts of backstory satisfy readers who have been looking for answers, and various threats and fights keep the physical stakes of the story ever present. While the story's plot threads weave neatly together for the climax, the conclusion embraces uncertainty in a liberating way. There are a couple of blink-and-you-miss-them nods to romance; the primary relationships are between friends and family. Most characters read as White.' - Kirkus Reviews