Every once in a while, there is a book that grabs me and I cannot stop thinking about it. And it is usually not a book that I expect. I am hit and miss with fantasy, but I am so glad that I ended up picking this up. This book is a fantasy retelling of Anne of Green Gables and hits every note so perfectly. If you are looking for a cosy and heartfelt book to read this summer, you need to read The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett!
The Grace of Wild Things, Heather Fawcett
Grace has never been good at anything except magic—not that anyone believes her.
While other children are adopted from the orphanage, nobody wants Grace. So she decides to make a home for herself by running away and offering herself as an apprentice to the witch in the nearby woods. After all, who better to teach Grace to use her magic? Surely the witch can’t be that bad.
But the witch is that bad—she steals souls for spells and gobbles up hearts. So Grace offers a deal: If she can learn all 100½ spells in the witch’s grimoire, the witch will make Grace her apprentice. But if Grace fails, the witch can take her magic. The witch agrees, and soon an unexpected bond develops between them.
But the spells are much harder than Grace expected, and when a monster from the witch’s past threatens the home Grace has built, she may have to sacrifice more than her magic to save it.
Why You Should Read This…
I think retellings can be tricky for authors. It is tough to emulate the feeling and heart of a story without feeling like a bad copy. However, Heather Fawcett’s Anne of Green Gables retelling is so lovely and absolutely gives me Anne and Marilla vibes.
This is not a step for step retelling; names have been changed and the plot has a different rhythm. I think that this is one of the book’s strengths because it lets it stand on its own. It keeps the cosy feeling that is at the core of Anne but also allows in that true magic.
I would describe this as Anne of Green Gables meets Emily Wilde (an historical fantasy series where a Cambridge academic finds and catalogues faeries), two of my favourite books. And while Anne is rather magical in any form, I was particularly interested in Marilla’s counterpart, the witch. The supernatural element fleshes out her story in a way that we don’t see it in the original; going forward, I will definitely be looking at Marilla with a different perspective.
If you want a cosy weekend in and you were/are an LM Montgomery fan, this is a must-read!
Is The Grace of Wild Things on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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