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Reviewed by Hilary Hawkes for Readers' Favorite
Degotoga by Hugh J Willard, a fantasy adventure YA novel, is the story of Degu (Degotoga) whose family are Cherokee descendants. Self-conscious of his height and alopecia, Degu is often silent and self-contained. He has two friends: RoJo and Ebony. On his 18th birthday, Degu’s mentally frail grandmother, El-li-si, comes to live with Degu and his rather self-absorbed parents. Degu is an only child, but El-li-si tells him he has a lost brother called Wo-ha-li. Degu falls into Adanvado, a spirit/dream world where his quest is to find his lost twin brother. He is accompanied at first by Ebony, who has her own mission of guiding the shadows (Cherokee people who died on the 19th century Indian Trails) home to peace. El-li-si and RoJo tell him that the balance between the spirit and material worlds cannot be restored unless Wo-ha-li is found. Degu and Ebony survive some gruesome happenings. Degu must discover some truths and develop self-belief to defeat the terrifying Raven Mocker, the evil source of the world’s imbalance.
The imaginative and powerful plot moves at a good pace. Willard doesn’t lose the reader through the twists and turns and dreams within dreams of this brilliantly metaphorical and mythical world. He is a very natural and excellent story-teller. With vivid imagery and strong, well-defined and believable characters, this is a story about finding truth and purpose in the chaos of good and evil, and the healing potential of revisiting the past to make right or restitution. It is also a story about discovering individual purpose and believing you have all you need to reach that. Suited to readers of 15 and above.
