The Crowns of Croswald by D. E. Night

 In The Crowns of Croswald, a middle-grade fantasy, we follow the magical adventures of one Ivy Lovely, a scaldrony maid. Ivy longs for something more to her life, something magic, and spends her free moments sketching in the open air and the light of the moon with her dwarf friend. One day though, Ivy’s whole life turns around; she is kicked out of her home and picked up by a scrivenist who starts her on her journey to the Halls of Ivy magic school.  Of course, no adventure would be complete without a mystery, and along the way Ivy picks up clues about the Wandering Family and some unexplained disappearances. Can Ivy put everything together before it is too late?

To start off I love the world-building in this book!  The hairies for light, the mysterious ‘the Town,’ the cabbys and their personal storm covers, and especially the scrivenist magic; it’s all very mystical and fun.  Ivy’s experiences are exciting and new, and it’s easy to get drawn in to the story of this heroine. I also really enjoyed the mystery that lurks in the background of the Wandering Family and collecting each piece in a way that eventually forms the whole puzzle. I did feel that there were some pacing issues with the story as a whole and the way it all comes together, but some of that might be attributed to setting up background for the other books in the series.  There are also a lot of characters mentioned who tend to pop in and out of the story - for example the character is introduced in the beginning and then only mentioned again at the end, when I’ve forgotten about them. Regardless, this story does check all my favorite boxes: magic, adventure, a low-stakes mystery with a big reveal, and mystical creatures!  D. E. Night has created a wonderfully fun setup of the Croswald series for young readers to explore.