Queen of the Crows is about an 11 year old girl named Elsa fending for herself when her mom leaves again, by collecting cans from the trash trying to fool the world into believing everything in her life is perfectly fine and normal. But when food, luck and money run out she fears her desperate and lonely secret won't be hidden much longer. But one day a crow talks to her and she isn't so lonely anymore. She discovers that the Queen of those majestic Crows is missing, leaving the rest of the Crows in a state of panic and doubt. Elsa is startled to learn she might have a role to play in this intriguing mystery.

This book in the beginning hit a little too hard for me. But besides that fact, I loved how the book switches from Elsa's story to the Crows so you constantly know what's happening with all of them. I love all of the Crows and "most" of the humans in the story. In my honest opinion it's not a book you'd regret reading if you like stories like this, and haven't given this a try. I rate this book a 4 / 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I only give this book 3 stars because it was not really my kind of book. Okay, so now you’re probably like, “Well, why did you get the book if you knew you wouldn’t like it?” Uhm… that’s a great question. I kind of expected it to be… what’s the word… darker? Dramatic? Adventurous? What I expected was some thing like this:

The Crows, a shadowy thief organization run by ONE woman. She called herself… The Queen of the Crows! Dun dun DUUUUUUN! And one day, a young girl named Elsa finds out about this group because she found their symbol spray painted in an alley way… etc.

But… that is not what I got. Maybe this is just what I get for being a writer trying to write an awesome Sci-fi fantasy novel 🤷‍♀️ I have a vivid imagination, and high expectations! Hahaha! But anyway, this tells the story of Elsa, a young girl who constantly has to fend for herself because her mom is constantly leaving her to go to parties, and… do other stuff. Elsa’s story picks up from a time where her mom has been gone for five days, and Elsa is low on food, money, clean clothes, and everything else. She has an aunt named Claire that she could always go to for help, but she wants to fool the world into thinking that everything is normal. One day while she is walking to school, a crow talks to her, and suddenly she finds herself immersed in the magical world of the crows. And yes, she finds out she can understand them. Elsa finds out that their queen has gone missing, and that they are lost without her. Elsa finds out that she has a role to play in this mystery, and she finds herself becoming-well, I mean this WOULD be a spoiler, but I mean it’s the book title, I hardly think this would be spoiling anything so, anyway, Elsa herself becomes the queen.

I give this story a ⅘ because even though I liked it I found it a tad bit confusing. Since in the beginning I thought the crows weren’t her imagination. Even after finding out she was delusional and her having an episode in class. We still see the crows point of view. So I don’t know if she really had a mental illness or if the talking crows were real. I like how the author showed character development through Elsa not only making a friend but coming clean about some of the stuff her mom put her through. Even with all the obstacles in her way . I also really like the ending and am hoping the mother did get better. I also hope that Elsa’s aunt does adopt her. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading the slice of life, and fiction genre.

I chose to read this book as I took Oliver’s quiz and this was my result of which protagonist most resembled me. I think this was a great match because Elsa is very strong willed, smart, and can persevere through anything! She is kind and always looking out for others before herself, she can also be a little sassy at times which is definitely me!

I really enjoyed how the book was written and that we also got to see the story through the crows perspective and how the lived. The characters were funny at times and they made me empathetic for them at others. I thought the whole “High Society” with the crows was pretty cool and that only the “High Crows” could know the queens name and go in the Hallowing Tree. I also liked the message they portrayed of what being a “High Crow” really meant as it is something that I think is really important in today’s society.

The mystery of what was happening with the Queen Crow was really exciting and suspenseful and made me keep reading to find out where she was. I also really loved the connection between Elsa and her aunt just kept getting progressively stronger. It was so cute and heart warming that Elsa got to have someone who could and wanted to take her; not that he mom also didn’t love her on the inside.

One thing I didn’t really like was the ending. The story ended kind of abruptly and was a little hard to understand. I feel like the story didn’t really finish; but overall this was a great read and I really enjoyed it!!

Queen of the Crows by Harmony Wagner (published by @acornpress), caught my attention both for its subject matter of dealing with mental health and for the fact that it's a novelization of a short film. Both the actual products and the process of adaptations are major interests of mine. And I always enjoy stories that blend fantasy elements into modern-day, familiar settings.