My goodness Colin Meloy turned this series around! At the end of the last one, I was pleased. It seemed like a good, happy way to wrap things up (ignoring the fact that Curtis never went home. I didn't agree with that.) However, in this second book, he takes the book to a much darker level. People die. Hands are cut off. Both of these things I tend to appreciate in books. (Queen of Attolia. Best plot twist ever.) 
 Anyway, despite (or perhaps because of) the darker feel to this book, I really enjoyed it. It was exciting, it was unique, and I adore the setting. The Wildwood has such a Narnia feel to it that gives me warm fuzzies. 
 The main thing that annoyed me with this book was the interlude with the moles. I mean, obviously, they had to go to the moles to get the information on the makers, but did it have to go for so long? Did they need to be a part of a whole war on the behalf of the moles? It took forever and all the caps-locks were irritating. I definitely think that Meloy could have cut down some of the parts and made it a bit shorter. 
 However, this was still a good book. And still a good series to read aloud to perhaps an nine or ten year old (it wasn't that dark, just darker than the last one.) 
 I certainly look forward to the last book. (Wonder what it will be called: Over Wildwood? Through Wildwood? Wild Wildwood?)