The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest (Newbery Honor Award Winner)

By: Aubrey Hartman

Narrated by: Marisa Calin

This delightfully grim tale follows Clare, the lonely, undying Usher of souls to the Afterlife, as an unexpected friendship turns his solitary life upside down and takes him on a heartwarming exploration of moving on. Perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Tim Burton!

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: stepping into a solitary life of helping souls meet their destiny.

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 find her way out of Deadwood. This is unprecedented. Baffling. A disturbing mystery which threatens the delicate balance of the living and the dead. Clare seeks the help of Hesterfowl—the visionary grouse who recently foretold of turmoil in Deadwood. But Hesterfowl divulges a shocking revelation about the badger that leaves Clare devastated, outraged, and determined to do anything to change their fate.

The undead fox’s

I loved this book! It is a book about grief and self reflection. A great development of progression toward self discovery and how it’s never too late to start your own journey to self discovery!

What a journey…

This book was absolutely lovely. I adored all the animal voices. Marisa is a wizard.

Absolutely Charming

Beautifully charming story with amazing narration. It’s as if Beatrix Potter and Tim Burton wrote a story together.

I liked how all the different animals had specific particulars about them. It made each of them feel bright and unique.

The story touched my heart several times. The author does a great job sprinkling little clues throughout the story for the ending surprises.

The author’s note at the end was so thoughtful.
I would definitely love a sequel.

All Good

This was one of those rare stories that I could listen to and just thoroughly enjoy all of it. It had a great story, charming characters, and a top-ten narrator. And it seems we may even get a sequel. Clearly we have all been sent to the Realm of Pleasure.

Delightful

My girls (11 & 9) and I listened to this on our roadtrip. Each time we hopped back into the car they requested it. In their words it was “fun, magical and liked how she used words.” Both give it 100 stars! At the end my mama heart was smiling. Well done Aubrey Hartman!