I really enjoyed The Grace of Wild Things. It’s a wild and whimsical adventure that feels like stepping into a fairy tale with a slightly mischievous grin. The story swept me up right away, and I especially appreciated how the 12-year-old protagonist truly acted her age—curious, impulsive, brave, and a little bit stubborn in all the right ways. She felt authentic, which made her journey all the more engaging. The witch had one thing right. Grace definitely fell on the melodramatic side. Instead of trying, she often turned hysterical and wanted to give up. Thank goodness she had a friend in Sereena.

The book is filled with magic, mischief, and heart, and while it didn’t quite hit five stars for me, it’s a memorable and charming read that I’d definitely recommend to middle-grade readers (and grown-ups who enjoy a touch of enchantment). A lovely story about belonging, self-discovery, and the wild grace of finding your place in the world.

With the original Anne of Green Gables as a road map, Heather Fawcett has skillfully written a story that will entertain readers at all levels. Fawcett has woven magic throughout the classical tale of a girl looking for a place she can call her own. Grace is 12 years old and tired of never being chosen for adoption. She's determined to start her own life outside the orphanage, so she takes her magic and makes a hard bargain with the local witch. What she learns as she struggles to complete her end of the bargain makes this version a wonderful story of found family and growing where you're planted.

This book was a bit difficult to get into but once I was able to get started, I loved this alternative tale of Hansel and Gretel if Gretel wanted to become a witch. Grace is a wonderful character and her love and dedication to the witch and her journey to get through her grimoire weaves a beautiful fairytale. This book has some scary moments to it but incorporates many of the classic fairytale components- "wicked" witches, fairies, familiars, a brother turned to a cloud, and more!

'The Grace of Wild Things' by Heather Fawcett is Anne of Green Gables with magic and a fairytale vibe. Very good!

This book was so good. Like all children's books (for some reason), it has some pretty sad content, but overall it is a wonderful book. I'd put it on par with The One and Only Ivan. The characters were well developed, the story was moving, funny, sad, and left you cheering for the main characters.

As a lover of Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery I was very excited to read this middle grade that puts a "witchy" spin on that original work. I loved reading all the nods to Anne's story both in scenes, characters and writing style. Fawcett does a great job with some of her delightful descriptions of the forrest and Grace is a great parallel for Anne. Grace is witty, determined, bold and imaginative, just like Anne. I enjoyed the friendships and was captivated by the story overall. My biggest complaint was the witch character. At a glance she is clearly a take on Marilla from Anne of GG, but shows no growth or kindness in this story. She was a pretty dark character, burning children and eating their bones. It was too much a departure in tone for me and prevented me from fully enjoying this book. I'm giving it three stars.

Meant to be a magical retelling of Anne of Green Gables, While it’s a middle grade book, it is not limited to that age group. The Grace of Wild Things hits all the right notes. Loveable characters, fun plot, and found family, this was a quick feel good read. A perfect book to curl up with on a cozy night.

This was a witchy retelling of Anne of Green Gables. It was very sweet and I truly liked it. I will recommend this to my dil who loves Anne of Green Gables

The author did a fantastic job of bringing the story to life with all the details and lovable characters. This is such a fun witchy read for any young person that can handle a touch of scary and a touch of sad topics. There's a great deal of magic, adventure, friendship, mishaps, poetry, and more.

Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books. The Grace of Wild Things is a fantastical retelling. At first, I was a bit leery of this book because I didn’t know how the fantasy aspect could mesh well as a retelling. However, I found it to a very creative and wonderful retelling! The story is very well-written! There are many twists and turns and makes the novel stand well on its own! I highly recommend this novel for fans of magic and Anne of Green Gables!

A wonderful cozy fantasy novel for any YA and middle grades shelf! The story was beautifully woven and the characters were lovable. I love a book with big imagination and a good storyline, and if you do as well this is the book for you! Retellings don't always go well - but this one did.

It's a fun retelling of Anne of Green Gables, Grace is a young witch who leaves her society behind because she doesn't belong. She seeks shelter with the old witch in the cabin in the woods, to be the old witch's apprentice. The old witch does so, but treats Grace horribly. She still agrees to teach Grace the ways of magic, and Grace makes her way, a new life for herself in the new forest- until she faces the need to defend it, herself, and all she cares for.

My favorite thing about this book was Grace's enthusiasm for everything. From the witch's meanness to her friends kindness, Grace presented the world with an open heart and an enthusiasm for all of it. I loved that the story didn't revolve around Grace trying to make the witch good or believing she could be better. Grace liked that the witch was mean and evil because that's how witches are supposed to be. And even though she was kind and sweet herself she also wanted to hone her magic and become a witch. This was such a fun read.

This book was wonderfully sweet! It made me think of Anne of Green Gables with a Studio Ghibli twist.
Beautifully done!

Emiliy Fawcett, WHY. This is my second middle grade read of hers, and she breaks my heart each time. I AM NOT OKAY. *curls up in a ball and weeps inconsolably* Ehem. This story was so magical and whimsical and felt like a fairytale. If you've read Emily Wilde, you'll love this. It's weird and magical and quirky. The witch is actually a real Hansel and Gretel style witch, which gave me Feelings and I was not expecting. The moral quandary of this book is quite a lot, and again, I have Feelings. but gosh, this book. This BOOK. I love the found family elements of it. The way Grace finds companionship and love in those around her, some seeing her as she truly is, others not quite seeing her, but still coming to love and care for her anyway. It just tugged at all the heart strings and shattered my soul into a hundred little pieces.
So if you love magic and found family and heart ache, this is the story for you.

I adore Heather Fawcett's books. I love the Emily Wilde series and I really enjoyed her young adult duology as well. I've also really loved her middle grade books, so when I saw she had an Anne of Green Gables retelling with magic, I knew I had to pick it up. This is such a fun and sweet book. It has the perfect witchy vibes that you would want combined with the found family themes that are so prevalent in Anne of Green Gables. And absolute delight.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story was decently charming, though not my favorite Heather Fawcett book. I enjoyed the interactions between Grace and the witch. It's a cozy little tale.

The description of Anne of Green Gables meets witchiness is a perfect comparison. Grace is an orphan who is also a witch. She finds a witch to live with in the woods. She makes a deal with the witch if she learns the grimoire. There are 100 1/2 spells to learn. Grace makes a best friend Serena and Serena helps Grace learn the spells. Grace is quite the talker and loves poetry.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the witchiness of the book. This book is a sweet book. The Anne series was one of my favorites growing up. Also, I loved the PBS version. Love this cover. This retelling is a lot of fun.

I wish it had a more developed plot, but it was just ok. I didn't connect with the characters, but I thought it was a decent story.

I thought that the writing for this novel was okay and the representation wasn't all there for me. It was a struggle for me to get through this book as the plot wasn't as intriguing to me.

I was really expecting more from the story...I guess richer settings, characters, everything. I had a completely different idea of how things would play out that what actually happened.