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The Ice Is Coming by Patricia Wrightson

Ancient spirits stir in the Australian landscape, calling to a boy who must learn what’s waking—and why the wind feels colder every day. Rooted in myth and country, The Ice Is Coming blends coming-of-age wonder with an eerie sense of something vast moving just out of sight.

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In The Ice Is Coming, did you enjoy ...

... ancient mythic beings stirring beneath a modern landscape?

The Owl Service by Alan Garner

If you were drawn to Wirrun being called by ancestral powers to confront the creeping Ice, you’ll appreciate how Alison, Gwyn, and Roger become entangled with the Blodeuwedd myth when the owl-patterned dinner service awakens an old Welsh story. Like Wirrun’s journey with Dreaming beings, the valley’s spirit force here is palpable and perilous—ritual, place, and inheritance drive the haunting repetition of a legend that refuses to stay buried.

... otherworldly presences embedded in real Australian country?

The Nargun and the Stars by Patricia Wrightson

You enjoyed how Wirrun navigates a contemporary Australia threaded with ancestral spirits; here, city boy Simon encounters the Nargun, a stone spirit awakened on a remote farm. As in Wirrun’s stand against the Ice, the land bristles with ancient personalities—Potkoorok and other beings watch, warn, and resist. The clash between modern intrusion and an older, living Country echoes the same eerie, grounded wonder.

... the land itself demanding respect and balance?

The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

If Wirrun’s fight to protect Country from the encroaching Ice moved you, Kahu’s bond with the whales—and her struggle against Koro Apirana’s doubts—will resonate. The sea and its creatures answer her calling in pivotal scenes, just as ancestral forces answer Wirrun’s. The story’s emotional crest, when the whales come ashore and Kahu must act, mirrors that same reverence for place and responsibility.

... a young protagonist grappling with heritage and newfound power?

Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson

If following Wirrun as he grows into his role—guided by old powers—to face the Ice was your hook, you’ll like Jared Martin discovering he’s bound up with Haisla trickster lore. As strange visitors and talking animals creep into his everyday life, Jared has to own an identity he didn’t ask for, much like Wirrun stepping into a calling that changes how he sees himself and his world.

... mysterious, rules-light magic that feels like the uncanny intruding on the everyday?

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

If you liked how Wirrun meets unfathomable beings and counters the Ice without tidy spell-lists or rules, you’ll love the Hempstock women helping a boy face the invasive Ursula Monkton. The duck pond that’s an ocean, the hunger-birds, and the quiet rituals feel like the same kind of deep magic Wirrun encounters—ancient, intuitive, and bound to place rather than system.

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