The Gingerbread Witch
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
“A magical tale, brimming with heart." —Anne Ursu, National Book Award–long-listed author of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy
Maud has grown up in a house made of gingerbread, wanting nothing more than to be a witch like Mother Agatha. But just like all of Agatha's gingerbread creations—from the magical house to the chocolate mousse squirrel—Maud will turn back into crumbs if anything ever happens to Agatha.
This seems unthinkable…until Hansel and Gretel, a pair of witch hunters, push Agatha into the cottage's oven.
To save herself and the other creations, Maud will have to go into the dangerous forest of the Shadelands to find the First Witch's spellbook. But with witch hunters on her trail and others interested in the book for their own means, can Maud bring back the only mother she's ever known…or will witch hunters capture her before she can save her gingerbread family?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After witch-hunting Wolves reduce her mentor to ash, a 12-year-old aspiring witch fashioned of enchanted gingerbread must find a way to restore things in an innovative "Hansel and Gretel" subversion from Overy (the These Feathered Flames series). To maintain the form given to her by Mother Agatha—as well as that of other confectionary creations, including Nuss, a squirrel made of mousse—Maud must retrieve the spell book of the First Witch, long hidden in ancient glade deep in the deadly Shadelands. Inadvertently joining a caravan of Wolves, including Hansel and Gretel, who claim responsibility for Agatha's destruction, Maud must hide her true nature and her mission. As the journey takes them deeper into the Shadelands, she finds common ground with those who would destroy her, but newfound friendships may not be enough to overcome age-old enmity. Maud's good nature and sense of loyalty makes her a memorable protagonist in this refreshing fairy tale twist that considers the witch's point of view. Most characters read as white. Ages 8–12.
