ALA Booklist

In this creepy fairy tale inspired fantasy, the village of Grimm's Hollow is cursed. Once, the Book of Fortunes granted a single wish to each villager, but three years earlier, the Book disappeared when a wish ended a person's life. Soon after, Clara's mother disappeared into the Forest Grimm, as did 66 other villagers: they are the Lost Ones. Clara's grandmother has long foretold Clara's untimely death, and now, nearly 16, Clara is ready to meet her fate. The only way to end the curse is to find the Book and make a selfless wish, so she steps into the forest wearing a red cape for protection. Her friend Axel comes along to search for his Lost fiancée, Ella. Stalked by the Grimm Wolf, they travel through the menacing, ever-shifting forest, encountering twisted fairy tale nightmares. Rapunzel is a spiderlike creature whose hair has grown into a weapon; Sleeping Beauty sucks the blood of her captives. Recommend to readers likely to appreciate scary scenes balanced by a sweet, sensual romance and a happy ending left open to a sequel.

Kirkus Reviews

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. (Fantasy. 13-18)

Publishers Weekly

Purdie (Bone Crier’s Dawn) 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. Thirteen-year-old Clara, who lives in Grimm’s Hollow at the edge of the magical Forest Grimm, has known that she will die young ever since her clairvoyant grandmother foretold it when Clara was a child. Though Grandmère insists the fates never lie, Clara believes that consulting the Book of Fortunes, a powerful gift from Forest Grimm to the villagers, could reverse her fate. But when someone uses the book for evil purposes, the forest recalls the tome and casts a curse on the town that drains Grimm’s Hollow of its magic. While many villagers, including Clara’s parents, enter the forest to reconcile with the magical entities within, none of them return, and now at 16, Clara intends to bring them—and the book—back. By juxtaposing happenings both sinister and sweet alongside themes surrounding duty versus desire, Purdie deftly weaves Clara’s journey to change her future and rescue her loved ones with the signature dark tone of the many referenced fairy tales. Clara and her family read as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gr 8 Up— Clara's grandmother has only ever pulled two cards from her fortune-telling deck when scrying for Clara's future—the Midnight Forest and the Fanged Creature. At nine years old, Clara is already destined to make a forbidden choice ending in her untimely death ("Tell me again, Grandm&2;re, the story of how I die."). That choice comes seven years later when Clara decides to enter the Forest Grimm in the hopes of finding her mother and reversing the curse on her village. With help from her mother's red cloak, Clara sneaks into the forest with Axel, her childhood friend, to find Sortes Fortunae , the Book of Fortunes. The book was a gift from the Forest Grimm and protected Grimm's Hollow from misfortune; it was hidden in the forest after a villager used it to commit murder, causing Grimm's Hollow to become parched and impoverished. Plucky Clara must face the dangers of the forest and her imminent death in her hunt for the book in order to save her mother and her village. VERDICT Purdue pulls from many original fairy tales to create this twisty yet enchanting romantasy. It will appeal to fans of the TV show Once Upon a Time and Meagan Spooner's Hunted .— Maria Martin