The Wingfeather Saga, by Andrew Peterson

    My siblings and I discovered this whimsical fantasy series fairly recently, and devoured the books with great enjoyment. This story of good versus evil is a fun fantasy of original characters, delightful plot twists, and Christian parallels.
     The Wingfeather Saga is rather difficult to split up into individual plot summaries, due to fresh twists and turns that come up in every book, so I'll just summarize and discuss the books as a whole. There are four books in this series: On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (yeah, you know this will be a humorous book by the title), North! Or Be Eaten (same thing...), The Monster in the Hollows, and The Warden and the Wolfking.

     Plot Summary: All light is gone from the world of Aerwiar, for it is ruled by Gnag the Nameless, whose vile servants the Fangs from the dreaded land of Dang are stationed everywhere to carry out Gnag's orders. The Fangs become suspicious of one family in particular, the Igibys in the small town of Glipwood. The Igiby children don't know how important they truly are to the fate of their kingdom, but their mother and grandfather know, even if they won't tell anyone. The world is restless, and unnerving events begin to occur. The fearsome sea dragons are stirring, the Fangs are massing, and the Igiby children Janner, Tink, and Leeli must discover their true identity so that they can save the world. Peril now surrounds them on every side, from the ghastly Fangs to the terrifying toothy cows of Skree.

(That was mostly On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, but there are so many plot twists among the other ones that I'm sure to give something away by summarizing individually.)

      Discussions: This series is very entertaining and quirky. For me it was a little off-putting how very... not serious it was. I'm used to fantasy with a more serious tone, like in Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings and such. These books turned out to be very comic and humorous, but they at first just weren't as deep as most "Christian fantasy" is. The books became more profound as the series progressed, but the overall tone is light and whimsical. (The footnotes in the first book are hilarious, by the way.)
      Here's an introduction to the Igiby family. The family consists of three children and their mother and grandfather. (Their father disappeared mysteriously a while ago.) Janner, Tink and Leeli, the three children, are delightfully real characters. 
     Janner is the oldest, and loves books and writing. (Personally, I relate to Janner more than the other Igibys, for these reasons.) Janner is irritated when he's put in charge of his younger brother and sister and made responsible for them. He doesn't want to be the one who watches over them and keeps an eye on them when they go to the Dragon Day Festival. He doesn't want it to be his fault when his sister Leeli's dog Nugget tangles with a vicious and vengeful Fang. But he's responsible just the same, and when the siblings are flung into war-torn adventure he discovers that he can be courageous and that it is an honor to be responsible.
     Tink is the second in line, and enjoys drawing, a talent cultivated carefully by his mother. Tink longs for adventure, and this longing makes him reckless and reluctant to recognize Janner as his authority and protector. He  wants to be strong, and to be powerful, but he doesn't know  how it's going to happen. Tink must discover courage, his own strengths, and how to use them to benefit his world.
     Leeli is the youngest, a skilled musician despite her youth. She plays the whistleharp and sings, a talent which captivates the mysterious and unfriendly sea dragons. Wounded when she was very small, Leeli limps on a crippled leg, using a crutch, but despite that she is fiercely independent and strong. Leeli's talent with music and her determination may well shape her world's future.

   Nia Igiby, the children's mother, cares for them with the help of her father Podo Helmer, a retired pirate with a peg leg and a fiercely loving disposition. Although her children don't know their true identity, Nia knows, and she guards the secret carefully. She is determined to protect her children with her life. 
   There's also Peet the Sock Man, an odd bird-man with a need to defend others lest he lose his sanity. Oskar N. Reteep, who loves books and quotes them whenever he can, suiting them to the occasion. The Stranders, the groups of rough and ill-mannered roguish raiders who harass travelers. The Wingfeather Saga is a lively, lighthearted tale of a kingdom's fight against evil, alive with rich characters, quirks, plot twists, whimsical writing, and hope.

Overall: I highly recommend this series! 

If you've read The Wingfeather Saga, who's your favorite character? :)