Ferals: The Swarm Descends

by Jacob Grey

Overview

Ferals #2: The Swarm Descends is the second book in a dark middle grade fantasy series that’s part Batman, part The Graveyard Book, and all page-turning adventure.

The sinister Spinning Man has been defeated—but a powerful new villain has risen from the shadows. The Mother of Flies has eyes everywhere, and she is searching for Caw. As the last survivor of a long line of crow ferals, Caw holds a crucial piece of Blackstone’s legacy—one the Mother of Flies will stop at nothing to find.

With his friend Lydia and his loyal crows by his side, Caw believes he can protect his city. But it will take more than crows to defeat this darkness....

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062321084
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Series:	Ferals , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	289
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	1 - 12 Years

About the Author

Little is known of the mysterious Jacob Grey. He is said to live in a big city in the USA, where he wanders the streets at night dreaming up his dark and twisted tales. He has a deep love of animals and even talks to crows himself . . . although no one knows if he understands their replies. He is also the author of Ferals.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for FERALS: “A scary adventure for readers who enjoy the Animorphs series or Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.

ALA Booklist

Praise for FERALS: “A scary adventure for readers who enjoy the Animorphs series or Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.” — ALA Booklist

“The horror and action escalate in the second volume of the Ferals series…This urban fantasy starts dark and gets darker.” — ALA Booklist

From the Publisher

05/01/2016
Gr 4–6—Caw is a "Feral"—he can communicate with and control the actions of a particular type of animal (in this case, crows). In this title, which picks up where the previous book left off, Caw is recovering from defeating The Spinning Man (the villain from Ferals) and saving Blackstone. However, a new big bad has emerged—the Mother of Flies—and it's up to Caw and his friends to stop her and save the city from destruction again. Fans of Caw's first adventure will devour this latest installment, which features the same level of action and vast world-building. A refresher of prior events is provided within the first chapter so new readers will be able to follow along. An open ending ensures that other books are coming; fans will be eager to continue the series.

School Library Journal

2016-02-02
Caw and his friends return in this sequel to Ferals (2015). Exploring his parents' old house, Caw, a white boy and crow feral (a person who can communicate with and control a certain kind of animal), finds a pale-skinned squatter named Selina. Though he wants to welcome her, Caw hesitates, a decision that turns out to be fortuitous. Outside the house, Caw's accosted by an old man who gives him a mysterious stone that belonged to Caw's mother. Caw eventually notices that touching the stone makes him feel bad, but it isn't until near the end of the book that he fully comprehends its abilities. Third-person narration unveils a plot similar in its predictability to the first book, within which good characters are good and evil characters are evil. The book's villain, the Mother of Flies, is forever ranting about the other ferals not respecting fly ferals, which does give her a glimmer of dimensionality, but it's not enough to paint her as anything more than heartless. And though characters vacillate about whether Selina—who turns out to be connected to the Mother of Flies—is evil, she's always merely a pawn with a good heart. The end finds Caw triumphant, at least temporarily—a tidy setup for a third installment. Here's hoping the next book offers more nuanced characters and a less calculable plot. (Urban fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews