The Girl in Wooden Armour by Conrad Mason

The Girl in Wooden Armour by Conrad Mason is a fabulous, fantastical novel about a girl named Hattie. When Hattie visits her wacky grandmother, Deidre Gavell, for the first time in years, things don’t go as she expects. Hattie and her family arrive at her grandma’s house, but she isn’t there, seeming to have disappeared without a trace. Hattie is absolutely set on finding her grandma, no matter how hard or dangerous it will be.

When they first arrive at Granny’s house, she finds a boy dressed in an oversized, red, raincoat, snooping around. when she tries to fight him, he slowly turns into rock and flees out the nearby window.

Then, Hattie visits the retirement home where her granny had been said to have been heading. When she arrives, she finds the boy once again and learns that he is not a thief, but a member of the Order of the Broken Wood, with three other people who protect the town from great threats that come out of the “Un Forest”.

The Un Forest is a terrible place filled with creatures straight out of your nightmares that will take over any human in order to take over Earth. The very same creatures that took Granny Gavell. Hattie also learns that the other members of the order include her grandma, who has the power of wood, Magnus, an old man, who has the power of water, and Skye, a young girl who takes care of Magnus, who possesses the power of light.

All four of them together protect the world against devastation from the Un Creatures who can take over the body of any human they want. However, to do this, she must first rescue Granny Gavell from the Un.

When she rescues her grandma, her grandma tells her the family’s secret and that she, Hattie, also has the power of wood and can also join in the fight to stop the Hollow King and Hollow Queen, rulers of the Un Forest, once and for all.

From the gurgling of the river to the roar of the Hollow King. I love Mason’s storytelling because of the amazing way he transports you into the Un Forest or granny Gavell’s house. Mason writes everything you need to be there in Hattie’s shoes, while still in the comfort of your home. Mason expertly crafts a beautiful description for each setting. The result? A fabulous, heart-pounding, fantasy novel with one wonderfully terrible twist.