Review & Giveaway: The Wayfinder by Darcy Pattison

There are those in G’il Rim who are born with the ability to find things- anything or anyone you might be looking for. Called Wayfinders, they are an important guild that assists the people of the city, especially during the wet season when a dense fog envelops the city and makes it impossible to navigate. Win is a gifted young apprentice Wayfinder, hoping to soon finish his apprenticeship.

Everything appears to be working in his favor until tragedy strikes and Win blames himself. Win determines to never use his finding ability again, but fate has something else in mind. The plague arrives in G’il Rim, and only one cure exists. A man instructs that a Wayfinder must venture into the Rift, a chasm bordering their land, and selects Win for the task. Win goes on an adventure that will not only heal the land, but hopefully bring some peace to him as well.

The Wayfinder was a good read! The coming of age story is reminiscent of popular young adult works such as Lowry’s The Giver or Spinelli’s Wringer. The book has strong fantasy influences, existing in a pseudo-medieval land governed by a monarchy and full of magic in the form of talking animals and healing waters. Pattinson doesn’t flood the story with descriptive details, building enough of a setting for the reader to visualize the lay of the land but leaving a large amount up to the reader’s imagination. This may work well for younger readers who would grow easily bored with too much detail, but I occasionally found it difficult to visualize the appearance of a location or a character.

The primary characters or Win and his canine companion, Lady Kala, were well developed, although there were some gaps in the story. A bit of background is given on Win’s mother, but Pattison provides little more than a sentence when alluding to Win’s father. Considering the significance of his parentage, I can only hope there will be a sequel which will build on that detail. Otherwise, it seems like a pointless, undeveloped plot device. As with many quests, the tale is built around the hero and his trusted companion, and together they face dangers and trials through which they grow.

I’d recommend this book for anyone looking for a light, quick read (I finished it within a 4 hour flight, so it’s a quick one)! It’s a fun, quick-paced adventure, written for youngsters but suitable for readers of any age! I’d be interested to see if there will be a sequel. The way this book left off, there’s certainly potential for it. If so, I’ll definitely give it a read!

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