The Witchlings series is one of my favorite middle grade series. I am so happy to be back in this world! The fact that it’s sort of inspired by where I grew up is just an added bonus! Keep reading this book review of The Golden Frog Games for my full thoughts.
Summary
Seven Salazar is a Spare.
And now, she’s the most famous Spare in the Twelve Towns, along with Valley Pepperhorn and Thorn Laroux, her two best friends.
After being named the new town Uncle, she’s undergoing intense training to learn how to use her abilities to communicate with animals. But Seven has a secret: the only creatures’ voices she hears clearly are those of monstruos. Something is terribly wrong with Seven’s magic.
Meanwhile, it’s the Golden Frog Games, a week of magical competitions among the Champions of the twelve towns, and Thorn is competing in fashion design!
But when Thorn’s competitors start to get turned to stone, suspicion lands on Thorn and the other Witchlings. Despite their fame, there are still many in the town who think that only the Spares would sink so low to win.
Can Seven overcome the problems with her magic and find out who is stonifying the competitors . . . before Thorn becomes next victim?
Review
The Golden Frog Games doesn’t let our favorites rest long at all. With the upcoming Golden Frog Games, Seven, Thorn, and Valley are up against the discrimination of the spares, other magical towns in this competition, and unusual power. For Seven, new role as the Uncle in training and her hearing the Nightbeast, convinces her she has to do it all alone. That no one can know how much she’s struggling or how much she’s afraid of these new powers. For Thorn and Valley, friendship drama, secrets, and feeling like we’re being replaced means that the coven is in danger before they relaly get their stride.
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With how much I loved Witchlings, I was worried about the hype I had built up. But never fear. The Golden Frog Games is such a fantastic sequel about the lengths people will go to for everything to remain the same. It’s about how we can fight the cruelty and prejudice and how much stronger we are together. I also adored the core themes of friendship and community that only get stronger with each installment. The idea of legacy is also a theme introduced throughout multiple side characters. What we would do for our ‘legacy’ and our outdated idea of what upholding it means.
The Golden Frog Games introduces the competition which is a fun touch that reminds me of a magical Project Runway vibe – except also with trials. This sequel really opens up the world and I’m so excited to catch up on book three! Find The Golden Frog Games on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.