I am disappointed in The Wild Wood. It is Charles de Lint's first novel, so perhaps that explains it, but I really felt that the writing in this book was simply bad. The theme, plot, and moral were interesting enough, though they were often presented too overtly, but the writing was abysmal. I can't quite describe why it was bad, but suffice to say that it was juvenile and awkward. I have only read one other book of de Lint's, The Blue Girl, and I must say that I was not totally pleased with that book either. The writing was certainly better than in The Wild Wood, but at this point I'm not sold on Charles de Lint. I would not recommend The Wild Wood, but since Charles de Lint is so acclaimed, I'm willing to read more of books to form a more educated opinion.