ARC Review: “Children of Owl” by Darcie Little Badger
“Children of Owl” by Darcie Little Badger (Author), Abigail Rajunov (Illustrator)
Publishing Date: October 9, 2026
Genre: YA, Mystery, Fiction
Page Length: 272 pages (electronic review edition)
Synopsis:
Maisie: hasn’t gotten her life back on track since her best friend died and she saw Owl, harbinger of ill tidings and doom.
Joel: Streaming prodigy with questionable decision-making who’s been exiled to a summer of kitten fostering.
Verona: will do anything to leave their trailer park behind, even watch a house she knows is haunted.
Owl: son of Big Owl, who can’t help who he is, or how much he cares about these aforementioned humans.
Their four stories intertwine with a ghost bent on justice, an adorable feline Animal Person, and a vengeful monster headed straight for them in this singular YA fantasy novel from Newbery Honor-winning Darcie Little Badger.
Review:
Children of Owl reads as a fictional story laced with many elements of fantasy and a mystery that will entice its readers. Told through a series of multiple perspectives, letters, vignettes of inner thoughts, and gorgeous illustrations the novel illustrates an overall theme of youth overcoming adversity. The four main characters though different, have much in common and readers follow their journey of navigating their futures and facing the past they try to run from.
Badger takes inspiration from stories of her Lipan Apache heritage as well as how owls in Indigenous culture symbolizing everything from deep wisdom to the spirits of the dead.
“Big Owl is a legendary figure with a unique place in Lipan Apache culture and a complex significance,” Little Badger says. “He’s in many stories. There are tales of children getting taken by him, and later tricking him and escaping. What appealed to me is Big Owl as an adversary that people must overcome.” (PW Interview)
I appreciated how Big and Little Owl are woven into the story as characters grounded in reality even though some of the characters can’t see them (except for Maisie!) Because the main cast of characters go through different and very real struggles it makes the book feel grounded. I felt a deep connection with their hopes, fears, and indecision that make their stories come to life and remind me of times in my life where I struggled.
My only complain about the mixture of prose styles along with the illustrations made the reading experience a bit jumbled and hard to follow. I feel that the story could have been more cohesive if it was all prose or solely a graphic novel. Because of this I think the book’s overarching theme gets a bit muddled and some of the plotlines get fizzled out in the end.
If you enjoy mixed media stories about family and overcoming hardships with fantasy sprinkled in, I think you’ll enjoy this novel!
Final Verdict:
*3.5 stars*
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair ad honest review.
