Sorrow of the Cranes

Sorrow of the Cranes is an amazing fantasy novel for kids in middle school and older. It takes place in a world in which stories are real, and the known world intersects with a hidden one.

In this novel, Sorrow discovers that she is a crane wife, and that her mother’s stories were all true. Sorrow and her sister, Joy, are sent to live with their grandmother and attend a school in the city. However, believing that their principal is the evil Queen of Dolls, they run away. They soon find themselves being pursued by an army of mechanical dolls, which grow stronger in the sunlight. Joy and Sorrow are helped by the kings of the forest, however, even they are unable to stop the queen. Joy and Sorrow must figure out what the Queen of Dolls wants with them and how to stop her.

Overall, this was an awesome story, very well written and extremely interesting to read. The setting of this story really kept my interest. It takes place in an airship ferry on a mountain and in the city at the base of the mountain. There is a lot of contrast between the fresh air and open wilderness of the mountain and the dirty, smog-filled city. The descriptions of the various locations were detailed and vivid, and it was easy to imagine what they looked like.

I really liked all the different characters in this book. The two main characters, Joy and Sorrow, were very realistic. Like most siblings when they are young, they were constantly arguing and fighting. However, even though they didn’t always get along, they still managed to work together to escape the city. I also really liked the different kings of the forest. They were all very unique and memorable, and most of them affected the story in some way or another. My favorite was the King of Badgers, a courageous and powerful leader. Another character is Roy, who is a very clever pig that travels with Joy and Sorrow. The principal and cook at the school were also very interesting. They were both former privateers who had switched to education.

The novel also had great worldbuilding, with festivals and legends of its own. I really enjoyed the way that the legends tied in with the main story of the novel. So far, this has been one of my favorite books and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels. It should be in every middle school library.