by Tracy Holczer
Published by G.P. Putnam and Sons Books for Young Readers (February 9, 2021)
Fiction * Realistic Fiction * Family * Grief * Coming of Age
Audience: Middle Grade (Ages 10 and up)
IndieBound * WorldCat
About the book: Critically acclaimed Tracy Holczer returns with a heartrending tale about a girl descended from the Grimm brothers who sets out to break what she thinks is a family curse.
Twelve-year-old Juni is convinced her family is cursed. Long ago, her ancestors, the Grimm Brothers, offended a witch who cursed them and their descendants to suffer through their beloved fairy tales over and over again–to be at the mercy of extreme luck, both good and bad. Juni fears any good luck allotted to her family she used up just by being born, so when she wakes up in the middle of the night with the horrible feeling like antlers are growing from her head, she knows something is wrong. The next day she learns her older brother Connor has gone missing during his tour in Afghanistan.
Her family begins grieving his loss in their own ways but Juni can’t help but believe that his disappearance means the family curse has struck again. Juni is convinced the only way to bring her brother home is to break the family curse and so she sets out on a quest to do just that.
From Charlotte Huck honoree Tracy Holczer comes a stunning new novel about the power of stories, the enormity of grief, and the brilliancy of hope.
My thoughts on the book:
I am excited to be kicking off the Blog Tour for Tracy Holczer’s book BRAVE IN THE WOODS. It has been a lot of fun planning out some of the posts with Alethea (Read Now Sleep Later) and Thuy (Nite Lite Book Reviews) including a playlist of the songs mentioned in the books and keeping track of the food that was mentioned throughout the story. As we discussed ideas, I realized that I have missed being able to create activities for students that bring books to life. Hopefully, when we return to more of a normal school routine, I will be able to share this book with students in person and experience the book on a whole new level.
In her latest book, Holzcer deals with the impact of war and grief has on various members of a family but also weaves in the various journeys each member must take on their own. I loved Juni (the main character) and her relationship with her grandmother, Anya. How themes of fairy tales and life stories reveal the normal hopes, fears, dreams, and relationships that children and adults must face.
In honor of the book Alethea and Thuy enjoyed a socially distanced meal outdoors and capped it off with peach cobbler. You will have to read the book to understand the connection. If you are looking for the recipe, I used the Peach Cobbler recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond on the Food Network Website.
