Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow

"Sisters and brothers, loyal for life, Tethered for always, true as a knife. Nine above others, nine above blood, Bonded forever through fire and flood. Brothers and sisters, faithful and true, Ever together, the special and few."

- The Oath of the Wunderous Society

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow is a 2018 novel written by Jessica Townsend. It is the second book in the Nevermoor series. The second entry is more character driven than the first, dealing with themes of betrayal and acceptance.

Just because Morrigan has made it into the Wunderous Society does not mean her troubles are over. Possessing a dangerous ability, she is feared by the fellow members at her Unit 919. Other than Cadance Blackburn and Hawthrone Swift, she has no other friends in the unit, and other members are quick to turn the other way when she asks for help. She went in expecting a group of brothers and sisters bonded for life, a group of people she could depend on, but found none of that. As if her situation couldn't get worse, her unit is blackmailed, and forced to protect her secret. Things went from bad to worse when people and Wunimals from all over Nevermoor start disappearing, with invesigations turning up nothing.

It is up to Morrigan in true Plucky Girl fashion to solve the mystery of the disappearances, with the help of her closes friends. Her abilities will be put to the test, and her relationships with both her friends and mentor Jupiter North stretched to its limits in the direct sequel to Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow.

For more tropes, visit the page dedicated to the Nevermoor franchise as a whole.

Jupiter cut off, his mouth open... The Deucalion was draped with millions of flamingo-pink fairy lights that lit up the whole night and could probably, Morrigan thought, be seen from outer space."
 * Adults Are Useless: Downplayed. While Jupiter North has been supportive and helpful, him and the Wunderous Society's own police force ("The Stealth") are unsuccessful in investigating the disappearance of people and Wunimals. She finds the Ghastly Market herself.
 * Auction of Evil: In the Ghastly Market,
 * Black Market: The rumoured Ghastly Market, whose existance isn't confirmed until Morrigan stumbles into it when she walks too far down a Tricksy Lane. Illegal substances like body parts and teeth are avaliable for purchase. A major plot point is about the authorities, including Jupiter North trying to find and shut down the market.
 * Blackmail: Unit 919 is sent these, with requests to deliberately fail a fight or bake a lavish cake, with the threat of revealing "the secret of Unit 919".
 * Brought Down to Normal:
 * Decided by One Vote: Type three, where someone's vote serves as a tiebreaker. Thaddea, Anah, Mahir, and Arch decides to ignore the blackmail orders and to let the cat out of the bag. Cadence, Francis, Lambeth, and Hawthrone decide to follow the orders, meaning Morrigan will decide how the vote turns out. Morrigan decides to follow the orders.
 * The Dog Was the Mastermind:
 * Gilligan Cut: A rare example where it is used in literature. Jupiter North repeatedly says that Morrigan's birthday celebration will not be glamourous or large, instead it will just be humble. Unfortunately, The Hotel Deucalieon employs Frank, one of the most talented party members around. "Jupiter North: "Frank knows who the boss is, Mog. He knows who signs his pay cheque. If I tell him to go low-key, he's going to go --"

"Yes,", agreed Morrigan. "But you said --" "I lied""
 * I Lied: Downplayed. During the exam for the Navigating Nevermoor classes ran by Professor Mildmay, Morrigan said that she has a idea for a shortcut. The other members in her three person group says that it's a horrible idea. Morrigan replies that she lied about the idea being excellent. ""This is a horrible idea," shouted Francis over the wind.


 * Museum of the Strange and Unusual: The Museum of Stolen Memories, where a person is frozen right before they are about to die, kept alive forever and forced to relive the moment of their death. The climax of the story takes place in the Museum.
 * No Time to Explain: Morrigan says this in the climax.
 * Time Master: Professor Onstald's ability, allowing him to slow down time, choosing to exempt some people from this effect. This allows him to quickly rush away from an angry Morrigan, and, in the climax
 * Secret Test of Character:
 * Superpower Meltdown: Morrigan does this when she or her friends are insulted, resulting in her breathing fire and losing control of her abilities as a Wundersmith. At one instance, she gets temporarily expelled from the Wunsoc to protect the other pupils, and Professor Onstald travels to her residence in the Hotel Deucalieon to give his lessons.
 * You Make Me Sick: Hawthrone says this