The Radiant Road

By: Katherine Catmull

Narrated by: Colby Minifie

A gorgeously woven tale of magic, friendship, and self-discovery set in a dream-like landscape filled with fairies.

After years of living in America, Clare Macleod and her father are returning to Ireland, where they’ll inhabit the house Clare was born in—a house built into a green hillside with a tree for a wall. For Clare, the house is not only full of memories of her mother, but also of a mysterious boy with raven-dark hair and dreamlike nights filled with stars and magic. Clare soon discovers that the boy is as real as the fairy-making magic, and that they’re both in great danger from an ancient foe.

Fast-paced adventure and spellbinding prose combine to weave a tale of love and loyalty in this young adult fantasy.


★ "A stunningly atmospheric, gorgeously complicated dream of a book." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "An unforgettable tale . . . that contains all the darkness and light of A Midsummer Night's Dream." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Gorgeous, haunting, and wonderfully strange, The Radiant Road establishes Katherine Catmull as a master of the modern fairy tale." —Anne Ursu, author of The Real Boy and Breadcrumbs

"Katherine Catmull deftly weaves Clare's contemporary story with ancient Celtic lore. The Radiant Road is a beguiling novel with a strong, engaging protagonist." —Juliet Marillier, author of Daughter of the Forest and Wildwood Dancing

Critic reviews

Praise for The Radiant Road

★ "A stunningly atmospheric, gorgeously complicated dream of a book."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "An unforgettable tale . . . that contains all the darkness and light of A Midsummer Night's Dream."—School Library Journal, starred review

"Gorgeous, haunting, and wonderfully strange, The Radiant Road establishes Katherine Catmull as a master of the modern fairy tale."—Anne Ursu, author of The Real Boy and Breadcrumbs

"Katherine Catmull deftly weaves Clare's contemporary story with ancient Celtic lore. The Radiant Road is a beguiling novel with a strong, engaging protagonist."—Juliet Marillier, author of Daughter of the Forest and Wildwood Dancing

"An eerily lovely story."—Booklist


Praise for Katherine Catmull’s Summer and Bird

★ “Catmull’s stunning debut unleashes a fierce imagination to build a wholly original world, rich with the familiar shimmer of folklore . . . this atmospheric adventure thrills with complex storytelling, carefully threaded with bits of foreshadowing and overflowing with poignant imagery.”—Booklist, starred review

★ “A haunting fable inflected with mythological and fairy-tale motifs . . . . The author balances this meticulous, symbol-rich narrative with a light, storyteller's voice, posing questions that readers must answer for themselves.”—Kirkus, starred review

“The book’s greatest strength lies in Catmull’s ability to articulate the disorientation and sense of injustice that accompany loss.”—Publishers Weekly

“Powerful and intriguing.”—School Library Journal

Beautiful story

I absolutely loved both the story and the narration. I smiled throughout. The friendships, love, beauty, and life lessons were all so intrinsically woven throughout the precious tale.