Samantha Penning is much like any eleven year-old, with one exception: she has a secret job. It sometimes requires her to sneak out at night and venture into the dark woods behind her house. That's her favorite part of being a Protectling. The Woodlanders rely on her to keep them safe, in every season. Sam is certain in her devotion to them and can't imagine summer without their Lantern Lighting or fall without the Butternut Harvest. But things are changing, and her life away from the woods is expanding and filling up with other responsibilities. As spring awakens the woods after a long winter, the time has come for Sam to face the one thing she cannot change. **Ages 10 and up.