Wildheart by Bec Manser

Wildheart by Bec Manser

Frozen meets Greenwild in this incredible debut, full of wild magic, spooky ghouls and adventure.

The children of Twigswick are taught three things:

1. Never stray past the rune posts at the edge of town
2. Run home as fast as you can when the warning bell chimes
3. Spirits are very real and very dangerous

Nettle Sourbud lives in the shadow of her older sister, Fern; fearless, tough and confident, Fern is everything Nettle is not.

So, when Fern runs off to join the Wildheart Rangers - the protectors of towns from the spirits and ghouls of Dryda Forest - Nettle thinks she’s lost her sister forever, as she’ll never be brave enough to follow her into the enchanted woods.

Then news reaches Twigswick that Fern has abandoned the Rangers to join the infamous Shadow Stalkers and Nettle knows something isn’t right. Fearing her sister is in danger, she ventures into the forest to find the truth . . .

Joining the Rangers, Nettle realises she’ll have to face her fears and defeat the Hollow Spirits who haunt the forest if she wants to rescue Fern. But soon Nettle starts to wonder if her sister needs saving at all, or Fern is the one who must be stopped . . .

Bec Manser (she/her) is a Fantasy/Horror author who describes herself as half sparkle, half spooky. Her sparkly side is a pink-obsessed animal lover, whose hobbies include gaming, woodland walks, and eating at every vegan restaurant possible. Her spooky side watches too many horror films, loves visiting haunted places, and thinks she would make a great paranormal investigator (if only she could stay up late enough).

A proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Bec is passionate about representing queer and diverse characters in children’s and YA literature.

You can find her on Instagram, Threads, Twitter and TikTok @thatsparklybec.