This book was written with a complete Anne of Green Gables vibe, down to some of the names. I had a hard time with this as there was so much in this book that didn't feel was the author's own. I understand the thought of taking something that's already been done and putting a new spin on it. . .but I feel like this could have been a fun and quirky and magical book without trying to make it so much like Anne of Green Gables.

The Grace of Wild Things was my first Heather Fawcett book, but won't be my last. It's a witchy retelling of Anne of Green Gables, which I'm sure is a draw for many readers, but I'll admit here - I haven't read AOGG. The good news is, that doesn't matter. While I'm sure I missed some references - this was such a delightful book even without the AOGG knowledge.

Grace is a young orphan who runs away from the children's home to seek out a witch to apprentice for, because she KNOWS she's a witch - she just needs to learn how to harness her magic. The book is full of adventures and fun mystical recipes/spells. While there are moments that are serious, sad or slightly scary - in hindsight the overall story leaves me with warm happy feelings. Grace was a fantastic protagonist - inquisitive, thoughtful, and ultimately stronger than she knew she was. The supporting characters were varied and fun. Overall this is a great middle grade read.

Published February 14, 2023 - Available now!
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins/Balzer & Bray for the advanced copy.

This book is phenomenal. Such a wonderful, whimsical, and endearing story with a fun, melodramatic witch protagonist.

It features and interesting cast of characters:
Grace- Our young orphaned protagonist who also happens to be a witch
Windweaver-Grace's crow familiar and best friend who loves poetry
Mrs. Puddles-The Witch
Sareena-headstrong neighbor determined to be Grace's best friend
Daisy Bean-Sareena's adorable little sister who believes she is invisible under her green blanket
Rum-fairy, indentured servant to Grace and archnemesis
Patrick-a cloud
Plus others (no spoilers)

A fantastical fairytale inspired by Anne of Green Gables. Grace, our intrepid hero, has made a pact with The Witch. The pact entails Grace working through the 101 and a half spells in The Witch's first grimoire to become The Witch's apprentice, if she fails to complete them before the first flowering of a certain tree (May, sometimes June) then she must forfeit her magic to the witch.

Cozy cottagecore vibes made this book such an enjoyable ride. Fawcett is my new favorite author. Grace has a unique voice that is lyrical without coming across as too flowery. She is the perfect balance of whimsical determination.

As many other reviewers have noted, this is a whimsical mash up of Ann of Green Gables and Hansel and Gretel (the original German version, so dark!) with more magic. I love a witch in the woods, and this book is no exception. The relationship that Grace and the witch build is lovely, and I can imagine many a precocious middle grade child feeling an instant connection to Grace’s view of the world.

bawling my eyes out. this was so beautiful & heartwarming and SAD

the references of Anne of Green Gables were rich but with subtle alterations to fit the book's theme. Grace is exactly like Anne: a super talkative orphan who thought that nobody wanted her, super dramatic, prone to mess up things but never meant to let anyone down. the friendship between Grace and her friends, especially Sareena, was so precious I was so afraid if something would happen to them. The ending was quite different from AoGG but I still love it, it just fits well while there's still loose aspect from the original tale. AoGG made me cry and so did this book.

TBH I still need to process everything so that's it for now. I love this book.

This was a beautiful book. I loved the nids to Anne throughout and thought it had just enough magic to satisfy. The whole vibe of the book was very much The Girl Who Drank the Moon, but I enjoyed this one so much more!

From the synopsis: An inventive and fantastical reimagining of Anne of Green Gables—with magic and witches!—that explores found family, loss, and the power of a girl's imagination. I absolutely adore Anne of Green Gables so I could not wait to read this one! There are subtle nods to key scenes from the original , but nothing is replicated outright. Having read the original is not a prerequisite, as there is enough content in this reimagining to make it a work all its own. While marketed to early readers ages 8-12 years old, at 400 pages it may seem a bit daunting,; however between the source material and the fantastical elements, readers of all ages will find a lovely, enjoyable read.

The Grace of Wild Things is branded as a fantastical reimagining of Anne of Green Gables, and even knowing only the basics of Anne of Green Gables, I can see the comparison. Our titular Grace runs away from the orphanage in which she lived to be an apprentice to the local witch. Narrowly escaping a fate in the witch’s oven, she strikes a bargain to complete the 100 and ½ spells in the witch’s grimoire to become her apprentice or risk losing her magic. With the help of newfound friends, she develops her powers, of both the magical and friendship kinds.

Grace is moody and dramatic and I love her. The book is written in the style of a classic children’s book (see the Anne of Green Gables inspiration) with dark fantasy elements reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and the humor and heart of Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series.

I would recommend this to readers who liked the Tiffany Aching series or any reader who wants to read an atmospheric story about a plucky girl overcoming seemingly impossible odds.

Of the two Anne of Green Gables retellings I read this month, I preferred this one by far. Fawcett fully captures the character of Anne with the character of Grace, the wild-eyed, talkative, imaginative wild child and made her magic. The infusion of magic, the major change in the story, makes this so heartwarming. I wish, though, that Fawcett had made the Witch character a little less evil and unlikeable and more like Marilla. With that as my only quibble, I definitely enjoyed my read and look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Grace of Wild Things is about a young orphan girl, Grace, who is searching for a witch to teach her how to use her magic - and for a home.

This is a fantasy AU of Anne of Green Gables. I expected it to have more differences between it and the source material - but in many ways, they are nearly identical in characterization and plot points, with magic added. This could have been Anne telling her story and just changing names/adding magic.

I think there was an opportunity here for the author to explore more the background of the witch and Grace and give more depth to why the witch was so irritated by Grace (what if it was that the witch herself used to be young and full of wonder and big words but the world's cruelty slowly stripped it away?) - to give her own spin on the characters and relationships and not just the world. I think a different POV or exploration of the relationship between characters would have made this stand out (I wanted more about Poppy ok)

I can see this being popular with young teens (especially if the like the Netflix show) and it was well written and enjoyable - but there was in the end not much unique about it. I enjoyed the little puzzles of magical ingredients that Grace had to figure out how to solve (like the piece of the moon or day with 25 hours) the most. The ending was a decent wrap up of loose ends, but definitely set up for a sequel.

All in all, it was good but too similar to the source material for it to feel like something I want to read again or to pick up any sequel that might come out.

My new favorite genre is cozy fantasy so when this Anne of Green Gables retelling popped up, I immediately requested the ARC. Anne of Green Gables? Magic? Fantasy? Witches? Sign me up! I was not disappointed in the least. This book manages to capture the delight of Anne without being a carbon copy. Rather than being adopted, Grace stumbles upon a witch's cottage and convinces the witch to let her stay. In exchange, Grace must figure out how to cast all of the (100.5) spells in the witch's grimoire. The secondary characters are just as delightful as Grace, and the bonds of friendship are woven throughout. If you loved the original Anne and have even a slight enjoyment of fantasy, pick this one up!

This was such a comforting read! A lovely, sensitive story and an authentic portrayal of childhood. This is for all the girls who got "talks to much" on their report cards and were always in trouble for muddy clothes!

So I never liked Anne of Green Gables as a kid but I decided I'd give this a shot. And that may have been a bad idea as I just couldn't get into it. Through no fault of the writing because it's easy to follow. There are just things about it that I didn't like. Honestly, most of it I didn't like and it wouldn't feel like I was giving this book a fare shake if I wrote about it on my blog when it was already based on something I didn't enjoy much. However, this is really long for a middle grade and feels like it should almost, almost be YA. Although upper middle grade is a thing. I'm not sure who would enjoy this that I know. But it gets 3 stars for competent enough writing.

The Grace of Wild Things is a magical and imaginative book inspired by Anne of Green Gables. The story follows Grace, an orphan, who knows that she is different from the other kids around her. Adults are wary around her and she has a crow friend that talks to her. Set on becoming a witch's apprentice, she runs away from the orphanage in search of the nearest witch. The Witch she finds, however, doesn't exactly welcome Grace with open arms. Grave strikes a bargain with the Witch, only to realize the task is near impossible for her to do alone and has grave consequences.

This story was full of heart, poetry, and charming characters. Grace is a whimsical main character, ever insistent on using flowery language and rambling on and on about anything and everything. The friends she makes along the way have distinct personalities and scenes featuring them were quite fun.

The Witch is also a delightful character. She's crabby and complains for most of the book, but despite her evil-doing and wicked ways, she has quite the soft spot for Grace. She never says it out loud but it's apparent in how she acts throughout the story.

This book made me laugh (and cry) numerous times. There were some things I wish had been mentioned or wrapped up a little better, but overall this book just brought me such joy. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a whimsical story- it reminded me very much of Spirited Away & Kiki's Delivery Service. And also Witch Hat Atelier. I believe that a fan of any of those would enjoy this book.

4.5 rounding up to 5 stars

An interesting adaptation of a classic story that I think many young readers would have fun with. It will definitely not be for every reader, but I believe younger readers will find it interesting.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books, Balzer + Bray for the opportunity to review this e-arc.
What an absolutely delightful book, as delightful as a poem on a spring day. Can there possibly be anything better than a witchy Anne retelling? I think not. My whole heart gives this five stars! I ordered for my library before I even finished the book!

4⭐️

<b> Magic is not some tame creature that you can put into harness—magic is wild.</b>

Grace is an orphan and a witch in search of a mentor so that she can practice her magic and become a witch like in the stories. Grace finds a witch’s cottage in the forest, and with the support of her crow familiar, Windweaver, she gathers her courage to ask the witch if she can be her apprentice. The witch tries to fatten her up and bake her, like the witch in Hansel and Gretel, but when Grace turns the witch’s cow’s milk to ice cream, the witch begrudgingly makes a bargain with Grace. If Grace can complete each spell in the witch’s grimoire before the cherry tree blooms in the next year, she will take Grace on as an apprentice and teach her all she knows. Grace sets off with her new friends to finish the spells and become a real witch.

This book was very cute and has a lot of found family and fun witchy vibes. It was a lot of fun to read!

This book was so lovely. Anne of Green Gables has always been a comfort read, so to see it reimagined in a fantasy world was lots of fun. However, if you aren’t a fan of Anne of Green Gables and aren’t in the middle grade age category, you probably won’t enjoy this. It was interesting to see how Fawcett rewrote some of the original plot, while also keeping it different enough for it to be intriguing. The writing was beautiful, the text is full of wonderful prose and looks at the world through a magical lens. I think this will be a lovely book for the age it’s geared towards.
I received an eARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I'm a fan of the author's other works and this was no exception. Grace is an energetic, precocious, sometimes can't-stop-talking character. I loved her. She's got definite Anne of Green Gables if she were a witch vibes. I laughed a few times over her first encounters with the the grumpy witch (who I liked immediately, despite trying to EAT Grace lol). If you're looking for a cute, magical, and fun middlegrade this will hit that spot for you. I'll be getting copies for my younger sister and cousin cause I know they'll enjoy it!

This was a stunning Middle Grade read that I highly recommend to readers of all ages! I grew up reading the Anne of Green Gables books and have a soft spot for them, and the way the author incorporated the original stories into this one was excellently done. Grace very much thinks and speaks like Anne, and the way that her flowery prose was incorporated into her magic was perfect. There were many other subtle nods to the story, and the author found creative ways to incorporate the original work while still making it something brand new (the cherry cordial scene was excellently done).

The magic was also a strong aspect of this work. It was so fun to see some of the different spells and how absurd and creative the ingredients were. I think this aspect of the work will be especially fun for younger readers. The friendships in this work were beautiful, and the character growth was done well. Each chapter also began with a short excerpt from a poem, which added not only to that specific chapter but also to Grace’s character. I do wish the ending had been a little less abrupt, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the read as a whole.

This book would be lovely for Middle Grade readers and older and could be especially fun for parents to read with their kids.