The Wildwood Chronicles: Under Wildwood

Under Wildwood is the second book in the Wildwood Chronicles trilogy. It continues the story of Prue and Curtis as the former returns to Wildwood, and introduces the characters of Elsie and Rachel Mehlberg, Curtis's sisters.

Part One
Winter comes, and Curtis has begun to prove himself as a capable bandit. A heron named Maude comes to warn Curtis and Brendan that Prue McKeel is in great danger. They travel to the Great Hall for a meeting, and learn that in the wake of the Bicycle Coup, various political groups have risen, and a kistune has been sent to kill Prue. Their correspondent, a South Wood officer named Corporal Donalbain, tells the Bandits to keep her safe at their camp.

Back in the Outside, Prue grows apathetic in school, and develops the ability to understand plants. During a home-visit from her science teacher, Ms. “Darla” Thennis, Prue leaves to look at the Bluff, where she is knocked unconscious by a black fox. Prue is found by Ms. Thennis and tells her about her time in the Impassable Wilderness. Later that evening, Prue is ambushed again by the black fox, who reveals herself as Darla. Curtis, Brendan, and Maude arrive, and take Prue back to Wildwood.

Meanwhile, Curtis’s younger sisters, Rachel and Elsie Melhberg, are boarded at Joffery Unthank’s Home for Wayward Youth, an establishment that doubles as an orphanage and a sweatshop for machine parts. Uthank employs the oprhans in his sweatshop in order to meet the business demands of the lead titan of the Industrial Wastes, Brad Wigman, who controls the shipping sector. His assistant and girlfriend Desdemona Mudrak put the children through grueling labor.

Rachel, Elsie, and their friend Martha Song earn themselves 3 behavioral demerits, which renders them “Unadoptable.” In his office, Unthank performs experiments on them in hopes that he’ll find a way to pass the Periphery Bind. Rachel, at his demand, walks into the Impassable Wilderness.

Prue and Curtis bide their time in the Bandit Camp, which has been moved to the Long Gap. In North Wood, Iphigenia has a prophetic dream and holds a Council meeting. Darla and two more kitsunes attack the Council Tree and kill Iphigenia. Iphegenia tells an antelope to “find the Halfbreed children” and warn them of the kitsunes.

Part Two
Rachel, Elsie, and Martha reconvene in the Periphery Bind. They eventually find a cottage in a clearing, where other Unadoptables and a blind old man named Carol Grod reside. Carol tells stories about Wildwood and explains how they’re all unable to leave. Elsie and Rachel fall into a routine at the cottage and regain a new sense of normal.

Prue and Curtis leave the Bandit camp and are found by the antelope sent by Iphigenia. They arrive at the Council Tree in time for her funeral. A young Yearling named Alister speaks to Prue and tells her to find Alexei Svik’s makers and revive him once more to bring peace to Wildwood.

Darla meets with her masters at their undisclosed pagoda and tells them she’s killed Iphigenia. Also there, Corporal Donalbain reveals the location of the Bandit camp in return for poppy beer. He later crashes a celebratory party at the Long Hall, lamenting that the Kistunes are headed for the Bandit camp. Curtis and Prue leave in a hurry to warn to Bandits. By the time they arrive, however, they’ve all seemingly disappeared.

Prue and Curtis launch into an argument and are ambushed by Darla and another Kistune named Calista. Cornered, Prue and Curtis fall into the Long Gap. Calista dies, and Darla escapes. Prue and Curtis traverse through tunnels at the bottom of the gap. They enter the Underwood and find a door leading to the City of Moles.

In the Industrial Wastes, Unthank mourns the failure of his latest experiments. Roger, whose full name is revealed to be Roger Swindon, visits Unthank with the blueprint for a Möbius Cog, assumedly to aid in the revival and rebuilding of Alexei Svik. Roger asks Unthank to make it in return for admission into the Impassable Wilderness. Unthank accepts and descends into monomania with creating the Möbius Cog.

Part Three
Prue and Curtis help the Moles overthrow Dennis the Usurper and are hailed as heroes by the Moles. Their prophet, Sybil, tells Prue the story of the original builder of the city, Esben, who was exiled from the surface after he revived Alexandra’s son and whose hands were replaced with gold hooks. Prue and Curtis realize that the same person who built the City of Moles must be one of Alexei’s makers. They return to the surface and end up in the Southeast side of Portland in a junkyard.

They learn Esben is a bear who’s part of a travelling circus holding their last show in Portland. They find Esben in his holding cage but are unsuccessful in convincing him to help. Disappointed, Curtis leaves Prue to find the bandits. Prue returns to the junkyard and gets attacked by Darla. She’s greatly wounded and unable to win even with the help of the surrounding plants. Out of nowhere, Esben kills Darla using his hooks. Prue is nursed back to health and Esben agrees to help.

Elsie and Rachel find the Long Road while out hunting game. Carol reasons that they must be of Woods Magic, as they’re able to pass through the Periphery Bind without issue. Carol and the other Unadoptables leave the bind and venture back into the Industrial Wastes.

Desdemona complains to Wigman that Unthank has stopped all production to work on the Mobius Cog. Meanwhile, Roger returns to Unthank, who was unable to create the Mobius Cog on his own. Unthank is then interrupted by Wigman, and then by the frantic beeping of his tracking devices, which signal the return of the Unadoptables.

Roger tells Wigman that Uthank, with Carol’s help, will be able to create the Mobius Cog. Wigman commands his stevedore goons to capture Carol and attack the Unadoptables. The remaining children at the Unthank Home revolt and destroy the factory. In the chaos, Carol and Martha are taken, and the rest of the Unadoptables escape into the Forgotten Place of the Industrial Wastes.

Characters

 * Rachel Mehlberg: Curtis's older sister who is orphaned at the Unthank Home for Wayward Youth while her parents search for her brother. She's moody, reserved, but ultimately looks out for her sister and stand up to Unthank and his unfair working conditions.
 * Elsie Mehlberg: Curtis's younger sister who's also ophaned with her older sister. She, unlike Rachel, is sympathetic, kind, and naive. She's the first to find the Long Road and tries to keep her older sister in check.
 * Joffery Unthank: The leader of the Machine Part department of the Industrial Wastes. He runs the Unthank Home for Wayward Youth, where he employs the children for free labor. He has an obsession with the Impassable Wilderness, much to the dismay of his boss, Brad Wigman.
 * Desdemona Mudrak: Unthank's girlfriend and assistant. She's a retired Ukranian actor and wants her own movie studio. Her support of Unthank's eccentricities and obsession with the Impassable Wilderness (and later, the Mobius Cog) deteriorates throughout the book.
 * Carol Grod: One of the exiled toy makers responsible for Alexei's revival. Alexandra had him blinded, and afterwards, he wound up in the Periphry and found a cottage. He started taking in Unadoptables who wandered into the Periphery.
 * Esben: The other toy maker who built the City of Moles with his hook hands after he was exiled from Wildwood. He ran away and joined the circus until Prue convinces him to help revive Alexei.
 * Darla Thennis: Prue's seventh grade life science teacher who turns out to be a kitsune sent to kill Prue. She's killed by Esben in the junkyard.

Publication Information
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Art by Carson Ellis
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Trivia
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