THE FOREST GRIMM

A prediction of untimely death was not what Clara Thurn expected when Grandmère read her fortune.

Clara could hardly wait for her 16th birthday and the coming-of-age rite in which she would make a secret wish on the Sortes Fortunae, or Book of Fortunes, just like every person in Grimm’s Hollow. But when she was 14, someone used their wish to commit murder, the Book of Fortunes went missing, and a curse now plagues the village. Clara’s mother was among the 67 Lost Ones who have since disappeared in the forest. Now there’s a lottery: The chosen person must enter the forest in search of the Lost and the Sortes Fortunae. Clara, 17, desperately hopes to be chosen in the lottery so she can save her mother. But instead, 19-year-old Axel Furst, whose fiancee became Lost, is selected. Clara, who has created a map of the forest based on information from those who entered it before the curse, takes off in pursuit of her friend. Clara is a strong and capable protagonist who has lost both her parents and is in chronic pain from scoliosis. Clara and Axel’s journey is an original and enjoyable take on Western European fairy tales. The characters’ rich and detailed backstories and the ominous, atmospheric prose are slightly let down by the pacing and conclusion, but this will not diminish readers’ overall enjoyment. Characters read white.

A satisfying story that pays homage to the dark narrative arcs of traditional fairy tales.