The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest (Newbery Honor Award Winner)
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5.0 • 5 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A Newbery Honor Award Book!
A fox and a badger begrudgingly team up to change their destinies in this endearing middle grade novel—perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Katherine Applegate.
Featuring black-and-white illustrations throughout, this critically acclaimed novel brings Deadwood Forest to life through both words and art.
★ “Heartbreaking, marvelously funny, and generously redemptive.” ―Kirkus, starred review
Clare is the undead fox of Deadwood Forest. Here, leaves grow in a perpetual state of fall: not quite dead, but not quite alive—just like Clare. Long ago, he was struck by a car, and, hovering between life and death, he was given the choice to either cross into the Afterlife or become an Usher of wandering souls. Clare chose the latter: a solitary life of guiding souls to their final resting place.
Clare’s quiet and predictable days are met with upheaval when a badger soul named Gingersnipes knocks on his door. Despite Clare’s efforts to usher her into the Afterlife, the badger is unable to leave Deadwood. This is unprecedented. Baffling. A disturbing mystery which threatens the delicate balance between the living and the dead.
Desperate for help, Clare and Gingersnipes set out on a treacherous journey to find Hesterfowl—the visionary grouse who recently foretold of turmoil in Deadwood. But upon their arrival, Hesterfowl divulges a shocking revelation that leaves Clare devastated, outraged, and determined to do anything to change his fate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Clare, the undead fox of Deadwood Forest, is cast as a monster by the local children who gather each Halloween around the forest's edge to chant about how he "waits to feast/ On little bones." But Clare isn't a monster: he's an Usher, one who helps wandering souls find their way to their respective afterlife, be it Peace, Pleasure, Progress, or Pain. Having died as a kit, Clare has no memories of his mortal life; all he knows is that if he dies again, his soul will go to Pain. When he learns of a prophecy about his impending disappearance, and Gingersnipes, a badger soul who doesn't seem to belong to any afterlife, arrives on his doorstep, Clare realizes he's being replaced as Usher, forcing him to confront his loneliness and fear of death, and making him reckless in his grief. In folktale cadences, Hartman (The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor) speaks directly to the reader, deftly weaving a riveting and morally complex tale populated by flawed, fully realized characters navigating realistic emotions. Prospective life-after-death scenarios are presented in an age-appropriate manner without judgment, encouraging self-reflection and bravery in the face of the unknown. Whimsical chapter illustrations spotlight important aspects of this atmospheric and deeply emotional story about loss and the things one discovers upon learning to be vulnerable. Ages 8–up.
