This companion novel picks up a year after the events in Once There Was. Marjan (Iranian Norwegian American) continues to live a double life of sorts; she’s a teenager with homework, but she also heals magical creatures for the Fells. Her roommate, Malloryn, a self-described witch estranged from her conservative religious family, works full time at an occult shop. While in Istanbul healing a vegetable lamb, a zoophyte, Marjan has a run in with a dangerous Nordic villain at the rug shop of her estranged uncle, who is also an animal healer and former mentor of Marjan’s late father. The villain stole a rare bird that emerged from the egg that Marjan removed from the lamb. This bird of a thousand stories holds the stories, or culture, of the world, and was destined for Marjan’s protection. Determined to save it, Marjan needs help and can no longer trust the shadowy Fells. Partnering with her reclusive uncle and opening herself up to Malloryn’s well-intentioned (and perhaps not imagined) magical strengths, Marjan commences on an international cat-and-mouse game. Hidden powers, identities, and motives complicate Marjan’s maneuvers to rescue the bird. Short fairy tales interspersed with the intense storyline provide context for the mythical animals and commentary on the role of culture and story. Beautiful writing, at times muddled by the dramatic narrative, carries this satisfying sequel to a close.

In this “breathless…entrancing” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) companion to the New York Times bestselling Once There Was that’s perfect for fans of Impossible Creatures, Marjan travels around the globe in search of a mythical bird in terrible danger, whose fate could determine the future of the world.

Marjan Dastani is successfully leading a double life. Only a few people know that when she’s not in school, she travels the world taking care of mythical beasts, sent on missions by a shadowy organization known as The Fells.

In an adventure that takes her across continents and connects her with the wildest of mythic beasts around the globe, Marjan must track down the fabled Bird of a Thousand Stories before someone with more nefarious plans finds it. But the more closely she connects with the world’s mythical creatures, the more danger she’s in of losing her friendships—and all that tethers her to the life she’s known.