The Water and the Wild is a Children's Fantasy Novel by Katherine E. Ormsbee.
Charlotte "Lottie" Fiske is an orphaned girl living on Kemble Island off the coast of Boston. She lives in a boarding house known as Thirsby Square with Mrs. Yates, the landlady. Her only friends are Eliot, a boy who's constantly sick, and a mysterious letter writer who responds to any/all messages she leaves in a copper box at the foot of the apple tree on the front lawn of Thirsby Square.
One day, after discovering Eliot hasn't been at school that much lately, Lottie goes to his home, the Barmey Badger (a store that Eliot's dad runs), to find out. Eliot's dad tells her he basically has two-to-three weeks left to live. In desperation not to lose her friend, Lottie begs her mysterious letter writer to cure him of his illness. Then, she meets a strange girl named Adelaide who takes her through the apple tree into a world of fairies, where her father is working on a supposed cure for pretty much everything. He just needs one more missing ingredient.
Of course, nothing is as simple as that. Soon enough, Adelaide's father is apprehended, and now Lottie, Adelaide and her brother, Oliver, and a friend of theirs, Fife Dulcet, have to make a journey to appeal for Adelaide's father's freedom.
The book was published on March 10th, 2015. It also has a sequel, The Doorway and the Deep.
The Water And The Wild contains examples of:
- Alpha Bitch: Pen Bloomfield.
- Eye Color Change: Oliver's eyes seem to change depending on his mood. It may be a byproduct of his keen, which makes him chance the skin colour of anyone he touches.
- Good All Along: The Barghest that's been pursuing Lottie, Fife, Adelaide, and Oliver throughout the book is revealed to be in league with Rebel Gem, and tasked with defending Lottie's life.
- The Great Offscreen War: There was one involving the lantern in the Seamstress' house. It was first stolen by the Northerlies, and after being stolen back by the Southerlies, was kept in there as a symbol of the Southerlies' victory.
- Half-Breed Discrimination: Fife gets very little respect due to the fact he's only half-wisp.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Lottie is part human, part sprite.
- Klingons Love Shakespeare: Oliver likes poetry written by humans. In the fairy world, poetry is used solely to chronicle big events that occur. Oliver likes how human poetry is more personal, conveying emotions.
- The Plague: The fairy world is experiencing a plague that killed Lottie's parents and is currently endangering the wisp race.
- Secret Legacy: Lottie's family, the Fiskes, are the royal family of the fairy world. The majority of them died to The Plague, making Lottie the sole survivor.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Thanks to them being fugitives and their home being destroyed by an angry mob, the Wilfers can't go back to their home.
- Younger Than They Look: Lottie looks like a 6-year-old, but she's actually 12. Might have to do with her being half-sprite.
