Great River Regional Library will participate in the seventh chapter of One Book | One Minnesota.
This statewide book club invites Minnesotans of all ages to read a common title and come together virtually to enjoy, reflect, and discuss. The seventh title for the program is The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse by Minnesota author Brian Farrey. Presented in partnership with State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, the program aims to bring Minnesotans together during a time of distance and adversity and highlight the role of libraries as community connectors.
From March 28 through May 15, through their local libraries, Minnesotans will be invited to read the featured book selection and will have access to reading guides and virtual book club discussions. Readers can access the ebook and audiobook for free on Ebooks Minnesota (click here for the ebook) for eight weeks. In addition to the digital formats, hard copies of the book will be available in GRRL’s collection (click here).
All Minnesotans are invited to participate in a statewide discussion with the author:
Virtual Author Discussion, featuring Brian Farrey
Wednesday, May 11 | 1:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public | Registration required
About The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse
In the center of the verdant Monarchy lies Dreadwillow Carse, a desolate bog the people of the land do their best to ignore. Little is known about it except an ominous warning: If any monarch enters Dreadwillow Carse, then the Monarchy will fall. Twelve-year-old Princess Jeniah yearns to know what the marsh could conceal that might topple her family’s thousand-year reign. After a chance meeting, Princess Jeniah strikes a secret deal with Aon, a girl from a nearby village: Aon will explore the Carse on the princess’s behalf, and Jeniah will locate Aon’s missing father. But when Aon doesn’t return from the Carse, a guilt-stricken Jeniah must try and rescue her friend—even if it means risking the entire Monarchy. In this thrilling modern fairytale, Brian Farrey has created an exciting new world where friendship is more powerful than fate and the most important thing is to question everything.
Brian Farrey is a two-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award and the 2017 recipient of the McKnight Fellowship in Children’s Literature. His debut novel, With or Without You, was named a Stonewall honor book by the American Library Association and won the 2012 Minnesota Book Award for Young People’s Literature. The first book in his critically acclaimed middle-grade fantasy trilogy (The Vengekeep Prophecies) was named a Junior Library Guild selection, appeared on the Winter 2012-2013 Kids’ Indie Next List, and was listed as one of Kirkus Reviews’ “Best Children’s Books of 2012.” The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse, won the inaugural Minnesota Book Award for Middle-Grade Literature in 2017. His most recent book is The Counterclockwise Heart, released in February of 2022. He lives in the Twin Cities with his husband and their cats.
One Book | One Minnesota is presented by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, as the Minnesota Center for the Book, in partnership with State Library Services and sponsored by Spire Credit Union. Program partners also include Algonquin Young Readers; Council of Regional Public Library System Administrators; Mackin VIA; Macmillan Publishers; Minitex; the Minnesota Department of Education; and Recorded Books. This program is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, as well as through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Links to resources and more information can be found at thefriends.org/onebook.