Waer

Book excerpt: When Lowell Sencha finds the strange girl lying as if dead on the riverbank, he is startled to find that she is like them: waer. Human, but able to assume the form of a wolf. The Sencha family’s small community has kept itself sequestered and unnoticed, free from persecution. The arrival of a fellow traveller, and a hunted one at that, threatens their very survival. Sure enough, the soldiers of the blood-purist Daeman Leldh soon descend on the village searching for her, burning and slaughtering. Lowell and the mysterious stranger are among the few to escape. And now they must find their way to the city of Luthan where, she says, they will find people to help them bring down Daeman Leldh. If she can persuade them not to kill her. This brilliant young adult fantasy debut from young Australian writer Meg Caddy sees the emergence of an exciting new talent in speculative fiction. Meg Caddy started writing her debut novel Waer when she was fourteen years old. She hasn’t had much of a life since! Waer was shortlisted for the 2013 Text Prize, and released by Text Publishing in 2016. Meg has been mentored by fantasy novelist Juliet Marillier, and spent time as a resident and a Young Writers’ tutor at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre. For the past seven years, Meg has been working with children of all ages. She is obsessed with pirates. ‘An astonishing debut...The writing is assured, the action is swift and the characters ring as true as Caddy’s psychological insights.’ West Australian ‘This book has broken my heart, collected my soul and has me falling in love with it!’ Tilly and Her Books blog ‘This novel has all the fast-paced action and enjoyment of the first Eragon novel, but it is far more layered and original.’ Incredible Rambling Emily ‘A cracking adventure story...Brimming with excitement and incident.’ Reading Time ‘An accomplished debut...[A] great example of a well-crafted YA fantasy...The descriptions are lush and the prose is gorgeous.’ Speculating on SpecFic ‘This book does not let you go once you start...Incredibly addictive and fast paced.’ Readers in Wonderland 'A new world of shape-shifters and a time-honored battle between good and evil come alive in Caddy's debut fantasy for teens.’ Kirkus ‘This is a tale of, among other things, righteous revenge, told in alienating chapters by the two main characters, whose perspectives convey the impact of the difficult circumstances on even the most gentle people...Love wins out in this well-constructed world, mapped literally and figuratively by the author.’ Booklist