The Serendipity of Flightless Things by Fiadhdnait Moser

Finula, lives in Ireland with her father and grandmother.  She loves to hear her grandmother's stories, especially when she puts Finula's name in as the main character.  Her favorite one is about the swans that live on a nearby island who are really children transformed into birds by an evil witch.  Finn longs to go to the island to see the swans up close, but for some reason, her grandmother will not let her go.  Then one night she feels like they are calling to her and she decides to disobey her grandmother and try to swim to the island.  Her rash plan sets off a chain of events that leaves her wondering if her Grandmother's stories might be true.

This is an odd story.  When I read it I assumed it had been translated from a different language into English. A lot of children's books written in Europe have a different feel from those written in the US.  I was surprised to discover that Ms Moser was born in Boston.  I think my main complaint about the book is that I didn't think the author motivated the children's decisions enough.  They would do or say things and I would wonder, "why did they do that?" Also, at times, the magic system was a bit ad hoc.  A character or the plot in general needed a magical element to solve a problem, and,-surprise- there it is.  I also found it odd that once in the magical place, Finula "just can't believe in magic," even though she has just experienced some amazing magical occurrences. The book is engaging enough that I finished it, but it is not my favorite children's fantasy of the year, for sure. (314 p. 2019)