Bookish Thoughts: A Daughter of the Trolls by McKenzie Catron

The Numina Parables | Book 1

Rating: Highly Recommend

Catron brings us into a new and lovely fairytale world full of goblins, trolls, changelings, and witches alongside a sweet romance.

The fairytale vibes of this beautiful fantasy drew me in from the start—from gorgeous descriptions to relatable characters. Goblins, trolls, changelings, brownies, and imps—so many types of faerie creatures make an appearance and only add to the fairytale quality of this story. It was one of those I couldn’t put down.

Sparrow is a young, wheelchair-bound girl who never lets her disability hold her back. Her weak heart, anxiety, and fears notwithstanding, when the witch Black Annis invades her glade home and absconds with her faerie friends and her mother, she sets off with the half-human, half-goblin Rush to save their families. Along the way, she faces many hardships she must confront, including the shame festering within her. When they meet the Elder Mother, a mysterious woman with magic, she joins their quest—helping Rush and Sparrow unravel mysterious prophecies, soothe wounds, and find the home of Black Annis. Along the way, unlikely friendships form, trust is broken, and Sparrow battles with her constant anxiety.

A couple of my favorite quotes (I have more, but they seemed too spoiler-filled 😄):

• “Some people aren’t meant to stay in our lives. But just because they float on by doesn’t mean they weren’t important.”
• “Sometimes, terrible things change us for the better. I want you to remember that everything happens for a reason, dear. You are who you are right now because it was meant to be.”

One of the many things I love about this is the way the writing is handled—it feels like one of the old fairytales I love to read, all about overcoming our fears and slaying dragons (or in this case, witches). It has all the hallmarks that draw me to stories, with overcoming an internal struggle, strained and/or broken relationships, and a little bit of magic. It’s not the elements within that make it a fairytale to me, but the lyrical writing, the realness of the characters (human or not), and the reminder that dragons (witches) can be slain, if we only find the courage within ourselves.

Catron’s crafted a beautiful world here, one I can’t wait to dive back into with the second installment of the series. Although the story through Sparrow’s eyes is complete, she lives on in the glade, and I can’t wait to see how she’s doing after her harrowing journey and shocking revelations. This is a story I’ll be revisiting often, and one I think about a lot.