Blog Tour: Wonder Light by R. R. Russell

Title: Wonder Light: Unicorns of the Mist (Wonder Light #1)
Author: R.R. Russell
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC
Pages: 240

Deep in the heart of a mist-shrouded island, an impossible secret is about to be discovered.

Twig is used to feeling unwanted. Sent to live on a pony ranch for "troubled" girls on a misty, haunted island, Twig is about to discover the impossible — someone who needs her.
Jolted awake from a bad dream, Twig follows the desperate whinny of a terrified horse out to the stables. There in the straw is a bleating little scrap of moonbeam. A silver-white filly with cloven hooves and a tiny, spiraling horn. A baby unicorn.

Now Twig knows what secret is hiding in the island's mist: the last free unicorn herd. And a mysterious boy named Ben who insists that this impossible creature is now Twig's to care for. That she needs Twig's love and protection. Because there's something out there in the deep, dense shadows that's hunting for them...

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R.R. Russell lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. She grew up traveling the world as an army brat and now travels the country as a coach with a non-profit judo club. She loves to read and draw, and like Twig, once spent a lot of time sketching unicorns. Visit her at rrrussellauthor.com.

Twig is an unwanted child. When she was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, she is sent to a pony ranch for troubled young ladies. Located on an old, seemingly haunted island, Twig is sure something is out there. But one night, when the cry of a horse wakes her, she finds something amazing. A unicorn who had just given birth to a beautiful, silver-white baby pony. With a horn. And cloven hooves. Now Twig is 100% sure this island is hiding something...but what? Can Twig keep this beautiful baby safe and cared for when dangerous threats surround the ranch? 

Twig is a cute main character, with a few mysteries about her. A girl with divorced parents can relate to Twig. Twig's story is placed in a fantasy book that has an interesting twists and turns in the plot. 

Annoying? No. It was cute, quick and quirky. In the first chapter, Twig refers to the island the pony ranch is on as a "haunted island" and that draws you in. So no, it wasn't boring in the start. Or in the end. Or in any place for that matter. The ending was ok, not the best I've ever read, but totally not the worst. It didn't leave me thinking about things, but didn't leave you hanging there like "What the heck was that?" It was ok. 

R. R. Russell is a good author. I probably read other books by her in the summer, when I have time to read more and have absolutely nothing else to do. The flow was great, going slow enough to include good details, but fast enough for you not to skip ahead because if too many boring, unimportant details. Wonder Light: Unicorns of The Mist is a great book for kids ages 9-13.

Author R.R. Russell once spent a lot of time sketching unicorns. In this post, Russell will go into detail about her fascination with these mystical creatures and why they play such a significant role in her novel.

In Wonder Light, Twig, a twelve-year-old girl sent to live at a pony ranch for troubled girls on a misty, isolated island, witnesses the birth of a baby unicorn. Her encounter with the unicorns and the people of Lonehorn Island changes her world.

When I was young, my walls were covered with posters of unicorns, leaping and shimmering with rainbow colors. They seemed to belong in a different, brighter world. They were beautiful, powerful, and free. I loved to look at them and to draw them, but I never really believed in magical, horned creatures bounding through the clouds. So when I sat down to write a book about unicorns, I made them the sort of real, wild animals that could live in this world—the kind that Twig, a lonely girl with a rough past, could believe in.

Twig is the last person who’d dream of discovering wild unicorns. She doesn’t believe in magic or miracles. She’s never even dreamed of having a pony like other girls. She just wants to be left alone, and she’s given up on dreaming. She’s almost given up on herself. But Twig discovers that these mysterious creatures, who at first seemed to be ghosts—always slipping into the shadows, hiding in the mist—really want to be known. To be understood.

She’s the only one on the ranch who understands who the unicorn filly born in the stable really is. Why she’s so different and why she struggles to fit in with the ponies. But Twig learns she must do more than just care for this impossible creature. Nighttime howls fill the mist-shrouded darkness of the island. Something’s out there, hunting, waiting to attack. Twig must become her unicorn’s rider, and she must face the howling darkness with her. Together they must fight to save the last free herd of unicorns.