Illustrated by Marcin Minor
Narrated by Marisa Calin
4 stars
Follow the tale of Clare, an undead fox who ushers animals into one of the four realms of the afterlife: Peace, Pleasure, Progress, or Pain. Clare loves his undeath as an usher, his cozy home, and his garden of mushrooms. But when the spirit of a badger arrives who doesn’t seem to belong in any of the four realms, Clare must leave the comfort of Deadwood Forest to figure out how to complete his duties as an usher, maybe making a new friend along the way.
Delightfully grim with sweet moments, humor, and themes of grief, loss, rejection, acceptance, purpose, and kindness. Somehow it blends the macabre and the cozy perfectly.
Nicely written with great pacing, wonderful characters, and a unique premise. I especially loved Clare and Gingersnipes as characters though I do think the descriptions of Clare’s “hideousness” were heavy-handed at times.
The audiobook on Libro comes with a PDF of the artwork, which is gorgeous. Nicely captures the grim and beautiful tone of the book.
A nice fit for young readers who enjoy a bit of darkness in their stories but still want a heartfelt read.