Lonnie and his brother Midge live in a forest with their father and grandfather away from prying eyes. They are homeschooled and don't venture very far from their house because Lonnie is a lifeling, a special person who can hear when something is dying and can bring anything back to life. Unfortunately, the price for bringing an animal or person back from death is years added to the lifeling's life and even eventually death, so Lonnie's father has tried to keep him sheltered away from other people. They are especially wary of the people in the nearby village of Farstoke that has a cult and festival surrounding the belief in the Lifeling.
One day, Lonnie's father is upset with the boys and is overcome with some past grief about his wife's death that he neglects the boys and they accept a lift into town to work with Jess a neighbour. This sets off a chain of events as Jess's daughter is very ill and as they boys befriend her two daughters Katy and Erin, they learn about the lengths people will go to to save the people they love.
Nice story with lots of folklore and fairy stories interwoven in it and shows how different narratives of the same story can occur and lead to different endings. Suitable for Primary as well as secondary students. ( )