"Purdie blends a variety of Grimm’s fairy tales―including “Cinderella,” “Rapunzel,” and “Hansel and Gretel”―into a sumptuous tale of love and survival in this beguiling journey." —Publishers Weekly
"A satisfying story that pays homage to the dark narrative arcs of traditional fairy tales." —Kirkus Reviews
The Forest Grimm
Kathryn Purdie
Wednesday Books / 2023
"Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die."
The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book—Sortes Fortunae, the Book of Fortunes—with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.
Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose—to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.
Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel—who is fated never to be with her—have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest—alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales—has a mind of its own.