Forest of Wonders: Wing & Claw, Book 1

I have been reading this book to my 9 year old who loves fantasy and animals, and she loves it so far! I got a little over half way through, and read the rest myself before reading the rest with her. Umm....it gets really creepy and scary! Honestly its about as creepy as I ever like to get in books! I do not want to read the last of it to my daughter! (Spoiler alert) The book takes on a darker tone in the last third. For an out-of-the-blue turn of violence, it starts with the main character (who, btw, is 12) getting whacked in the head with a board by another child in the middle of a night sneak-out (which I'd say is a muderous move). Then they discover a sinister plan by the adults to train animals to kill people, and of course the animals are treated and housed horribly, and subject to horrible experiments. Then the birds try to kill them as they escape by trying to stab their eyes out, and with a deafening screams. I don't know, this might not sound that bad just writing about it here, but I think it's done in a way, with enough nightmarish detail, that its just too creepy for us, and for my 9 yo at this point. Oh, and the main character is also not only betrayed by, but suddenly almost killed by, his own beloved uncle, who up to that point, has been nothing but loving and supportive in his life (not much foreshadowing of this, no suspicious behavior on his part, nothing). I think that's a little much for this age as well. Don't get me wrong, its a great book, well-written, great creative subject matter, just not age-appropriate for us right us right now, which is so disappointing!