Click here to buy this book! Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Apple iTunes (eBook) Lulu Whisper of the Woods Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Fire and Ice Young Adult Books (imprint of Melange Books) ISBN-10:  1680462067 Type: Fiction Pages: 220 Copyright: Nov. 15, 2015 ISBN-13: 9781680462067 Price: $2.99 (eBook) Teen environmentalist, Juniper Sawfeather, is trapped 170 feet up in a 1,000 year old tree by an ancient tree spirit who doesn't want to let her down or allow anyone to save her. Will her feet ever touch the ground again? Juniper Sawfeather seems to have a talent for finding mythological creatures. Or maybe the creatures are finding her. The mermaids she saved from the oil spill (Cry of the Sea) are long gone. There's no evidence of them, and she's been branded as a liar and a fake in the media and at school. Her environmental activist parents have moved on to a protest to save Old Growth trees from being chopped down. Juniper becomes obsessed with one of the trees, and it appears the tree is obsessed with her too. Soon, she is trapped 170 feet above the ground, and the magical spirit that resides in the tree isn't interested in letting her go free or allowing anyone to save her. Is the tree spirit good or evil? Will Juniper's feet ever touch the ground again?        Excerpt I put my hands back on the tree. A tickling sensation started against my palms, almost like dogs nuzzling their noses into them. I pulled my right hand back and looked at it. Nothing was in my hand; nothing was on the tree. I put my hand against the tree again, in a slightly different spot. The tickling sensation began again, along with a nudging. The bark of the tree swelled beneath my hands until my fingers were wrapped around knobs that seemed to have been pushed out of the tree to perfectly fill the size of my palms. I stepped on a root and then reached higher to see if there would be another one. Again, I experienced the same sensation of the flat, rough bark suddenly growing into a perfect handhold. I grabbed it. I couldn’t see any more of them above me. With my weight on my right foot, I lifted my left and scraped at the trunk, trying to find a nodule sticking out far enough to put weight on, but my boot didn’t catch on anything. I reached up higher with my hand, and another knob formed into my palm. Impulsively, I tore the boot off my left foot and tossed it to the ground, followed by my thick sock. I skimmed around the trunk with my bare foot again, and almost instantly my skin found something sticking out of the tree wide enough for my foot and strong enough to hold my weight. I rose two feet off the ground. Now, with my weight on my left foot, I hurriedly rid myself of my right boot and sock. I reached up again with my left hand this time. Where there had been nothing, I found yet another handhold. My right foot found a spot to land, too. I continued upward. Each bump that grew out of the tree for me was perfectly positioned and precisely the right size for my hands and feet. When I was thirteen, my dad took me to a gym a few times to have me learn rock climbing. He was preparing me for a trip we might take to Utah where poachers were killing Bald Eagles and the chicks were being left in the nests to die. He wanted us to be prepared to climb to save them if necessary. We never wound up taking that trip. Mom took the company to court, and the operation stopped. When I trained with Dad I’d worn a harness, and there were gym mats at the base in case I fell. This was the first time I’d climbed for real. Nothing was protecting me as I rose higher and higher on this tree, yet I felt certain I wasn’t going to fall. The tree was allowing me to climb up, helping me climb up. The tree wanted me up inside its branches. In a matter of moments, I passed the branch I’d been found on two weeks ago. I kept going. As long as the tree provided me the hand and footholds, I saw no reason to stop. I didn’t bother looking down. I was too amazed by what was happening – the magical ladder the tree provided. I rose higher and higher until my muscles began to sting, and my shoulders pinched from the workout. When I felt like I couldn’t climb anymore, the mysterious knobs ceased to form. I felt around above my head, but the tree had stopped providing them, as if it knew I couldn’t go any further. Carefully, holding on to other branches above me, I managed to put a leg over the thick branch beside me and straddled it while leaning my back against the sturdy trunk. Only now did I notice how hard I was breathing and that sweat trickled down from my hairline even though the temperature was still so brisk. I finally dared to glance down. From where I sat I could barely see the ground. Lower branches full of thick sprays of needles blocked most of the view. If I had to guess, I was a good hundred feet up. Probably more. Fear seized me. My back went rigid, and my arms gripped the trunk behind me. I squeezed the branch with my thighs as tightly as I could. What had I been thinking? I was going to fall. I was going to die. I looked down carefully, hoping to see all the hand and footholds on the trunk that would help me get back down. There wasn’t a sign of them. They had been phantoms. “I’m trapped.” No sooner had I spoken those words, than I heard a soft whisper in response: Yes.

Multicultural Children's Book Day review
From the first book, Cry of the Sea, I loved Juniper's character. I especially loved that not only was the protagonist a strong female teen, but she was Native American as well; two things that aren't always easy to find in YA. Her pride and fiery character had me hooked to the story, and her struggles, not only as a teen, but a teen of high-profile parents who were often under fire for their activist ways. Whisper of the Woods keeps the mystery, intrigue and action rolling with a surprise ending that I didn't see coming (but LOVED)!


Finding Wonderland review
"A paranormal/mythological fantasy with a half American Indian protagonist, it was up my alley in multiple ways. Firstly, I appreciated seeing another addition to the realm of books with mixed race main characters. Secondly, of course, you know we love us some spec fic around here.

I also am happy every time I get to read a good quality indie book. Published by Fire and Ice (an imprint of Melange Books), this was a solidly well-written fantasy with a unique premise.. I appreciated the environmental themes (again, topical!) and thought they were incorporated into the plot well, without being heavy-handed.

I am not particularly qualified to address how the depiction of American Indian culture was handled, but as far as I can tell, the author did appropriate outreach and research to address issues of ethnicity, and most importantly, all the characters of color (American Indian or otherwise—there was also "my" sort of Indian in there, too! Heh) were fully fleshed-out individuals. There weren't any "magical Indian" stereotypes to be found—which is the kind of thing I worry about in a fantasy that has mythological elements. Here, the Other isn't exoticized; rather, it's a story about real people with real concerns…and a girl who is just a bit magical, and can see the magic in the world and in her own culture(s)."

Avid Amy Reviews
"The story behind the tree is laced with Native American legends. Combining with the legends, Driver gives us a story that is entertaining and thought provoking. Driver takes a risk in writing a story
that is about environmental awareness. She does a great job with it by mixing it with the entertaining storyline."