Shadows of Sherwood

May 18, 2015
Robyn Loxley, the 12-year-old daughter of two members of Parliament, regularly sneaks out after dark to scavenge electronics at a junkyard in Nott City. One night, that habit saves her, when military police violently kidnap her parents and other government officials who oppose a power grab by Royal Governor Ignomus Crown. Robyn’s father leaves her cryptic clues—about moon lore and gathering the elements—which suggest that he knew the family was in danger, and that he expects Robyn to play a role in toppling Crown’s regime. Essentially orphaned, Robyn falls in with a (not-so-merry) band of other free-range kids and, like Robin Hood before her, becomes Public Enemy No. 1 when she daringly acts on the injustices she sees in how resources are distributed. Set in the future and paced with one death-defying escape after another, Magoon’s (How It Went Down) story doesn’t end so much as pause. Readers—and Robyn—must wait until at least the second book in the Robyn Hoodlum series to learn the fate of her parents. Ages 8–12. Agent: Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency.