I had not read the first book but the backstory is cleverly presented by conversations between Selkie, who is a faerie princess of sorts trying to live normally, her school pal Kelsey and other people. Enchantments created by Ben and Will, a long-lived wizard, have kept Boston safe from Seelies but now Ben has vanished and the protection is starting to break. Will comes to fetch Selkie - accompanied by determined, loyal but marvelling Kelsey - and take her to safety or, as it is otherwise known, immediate peril.

Who knew that the goblins live underground in the Boston subway? Not just in the tunnels, but in a handsome magical city beside them. Acting to fulfil a prophecy concerning Selkie, Will brings the girls to the goblin king and asks for aid. The different races of faerie beings distrust one another. There's a matter of a missing book, which Ben stole from the goblins, and a few centuries of disputes. Still, when all Boston's church bells are crashing noisily to the ground, being in a cave seems like a good idea.

Selkie is the fay of the autumnal equinox and she's got a complicated history, which includes having been brought up in the normal world. This means that she has to keep asking questions, as does Kelsey, and she's constantly surprised when faerie folks tell lies a lot. Every now and then I wanted the kids to stop arguing and get on with solving their problems. Sometimes it felt as though the author had changed her mind about a facet of the earlier story and wanted to amend matters, using the lie explanation. The good aspect of this is that following the story doesn't depend on having read the earlier book.

Every book about faerie folks involves feasts and courts and glamours, royalty and danger. You'll find them all in this exciting and fun Young Adult story THE BOY WITH THE HIDDEN NAME by Skylar Dorset.

Book Summary