This is a crossposted review of The Moorchild from my Goodreads account. The original review can be read here.
Do you ever read a book and expect to give it a high rating, only for the ending to completely crush all your hopes and leave you feeling sorely disappointed?
I picked up The Moorchild because I enjoy a good fae story. And this book is very quintessentially fae – it illustrates the darker, more sinister and careless aspects of them without getting insanely dark, like Holly Black’s Tithe. Saaski is a vibrant, out-of-place child who can’t quite fit in with either the human or fae world. When she learns that she is a changeling – a fae baby replaced with her parents true child – she begins to understand the differences surrounding her and make a plan as to how to proceed.
I really liked how transporting this book was, and Saaski’s friend Tam was so sweet. I loved their friendship. But the ending… oh man, I HATED it. This would’ve broken my heart utterly if I’d read it as a child.
Spoilers below:
Despite Saaski not really fitting in with her village, you see her bonding with her parents in certain scenes. I’d fully expected her to either fail in her quest to save their bio daughter (like by finding out the bio girl was already saved by someone else) and realize that she was the child her parents wanted all along, or find the bio girl and raise her as a sister with their parents. And we got NEITHER.
I can’t explain the dread I felt when I realized how little of the book was left. Despite Saaski’s bonding with her parents and Old Bess, she just – LEAVES. And her parents don’t care!! They’ve raised Saaski for ELEVEN YEARS, but when they get their bio daughter they just forget about Saaski?? And don’t even miss her?? Are you KIDDING me??
I get part of the story about Saaski not fitting into either realm and finding her own future with Tam, but we never SEE what that future is! Instead of the story being about Saaski finding her place, she just leaves and we never see what that place is! And her parents are fine with her leaving forever!!!
I genuinely don’t get how this is a book for “kids who feel different.” The message here is “if you are different, your parents will never love you, and your only option is to find them a better version of you and then leave.” Seriously, how else are you supposed to interpret this?
Oh, I’m mad. What a dumb ending. I preferred the way Tithe handled changing babies SO much more.
2/5 stars.
