Nell O'Dell Hates Quests

By: Emily B. Martin

Published by Candlewick Press, 2026-04-07

<b>What happens when the quest finds <i>you</i>, despite your best efforts? A reluctant adventurer sets off on an unexpected journey in this broadly appealing fantasy at once earnest and self-aware, funny and heartfelt, and thoroughly charming.</b><br> <br> Nell O'Dell yearns for a quiet life tending her garden and caring for her chickens. Unfortunately, her family runs the bustling Crossroads Inn--accommodating all species of patron from fairies to fauns to half-giants, most of them questers on their way to seek glory and fortune. What's more, her parents are retired questers themselves, and everyone assumes that Nell will follow in their footsteps. Then the day comes when a letter arrives from the government, threatening the Inn and all that Nell holds dear, and someone needs to go on a short journey to the capital to take care of it. Nell is the only one available--but that's fine, because it's just a boring business trip, not a quest! Even if she does find herself up against an excitable travel partner, a thief in the night, a stolen treasure, and a mysterious knife . . . Lively black-and-white illustrations by the author embellish this breezy, bighearted adventure that will satisfy both longtime questers and first-time visitors to the genre.