The Edge of Strange Hollow

by Gabrielle K. Byrne

Overview

Welcome to Strange Hollow. Beware the Grimwood.

Poppy Sunshine isn’t like everyone else in Strange Hollow. She’s not afraid of the Grimwood, home to magical creatures like shape-shifters, fairies, witches, and even a three-headed dog.

Banned from the wood by her parents, Poppy longs to learn everything about it and imagines joining her mother and father as they hunt the forest’s cursed magical objects. So when her only family disappears on a routine expedition, she and her friends must break every rule to save them. But Poppy soon discovers that things in the Grimwood are rarely what they seem...

And the monsters who took her parents may not be monsters at all.

An Imprint Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250624666
Publisher:	Imprint
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	1,092,229
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gabrielle K. Byrne lives in the tangled wilds of the Pacific Northwest, where she writes fantasy for kids of all ages. Gabby loves rain, marine biology, Thai food, and naming pets (even ones she doesn’t own). When she’s not writing, she can be found fishing spineless beasties out of the Salish Sea with her husband and two daughters. She is the author of Rise of the Dragon Moon and The Edge of Strange Hollow.

Editorial Reviews

"Spookily thrilling with superlative worldbuilding." —Kirkus Reviews

"A wonderfully imaginative tale filled with friendship and adventure—the magic of the Grimwood charms every page." —Heather Kassner, author of The Plentiful Darkness

"Poppy Sunshine's realizations about the truths of her world, and her role in it, her magnificent companions, and the astounding Grimwood she lives beside make Gabrielle K. Byrne's The Edge of Strange Hollow a fantastic read. I'm still thinking about it, days later!" —Fran Wilde, author of the Nebula-award-winning novels Riverland and Updraft


Praise for Rise of the Dragon Moon:

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"Enthralling, masterful storytelling—a perfect blend of adventure and coming-of-age, and deliciously scary in parts. My head is still filled with glorious dragons."
—Karen Foxlee, author of Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

"The dragons...seethe and swirl off the pages. Fans of Erin Hunter’s 'Warriors' series will enjoy." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2021-04-30
Most villagers in the Hollows fear the Grimwood, with good reason. Poppy’s parents tried to change that until they disappeared; now it’s up to her.

Separated from the outside world by the mostly impenetrable fog, the Hollows’ human residents farm the rich land encircling the Grimwood and shun Poppy’s family, whose home was grown for them by the Grimwood. While her parents work hard to understand the forest and neutralize the maledictions it sends, Jute, a loyal hob—one of the hearts of trees who hatch and then seek homes—looks after Poppy and Dog, her three-headed cerberus. Poppy’s only friend, elf Mack, joins her search, though with reservations, as does Nula, an effervescent, shape-shifting pooka who shows Poppy how to undo the blood ward that’s prevented her from exploring the Grimwood. Nula talks Poppy into going to the faeries for help, overriding Mack’s sound objections, but when courageous, headstrong Poppy discounts threats and complications to her quest, bigger problems ensue. The fascinating forest’s lethal dangers include thorn trees, trolls, wisps, and—at its center—the Holly Oak, which just might hold the key to the Grimwood’s mysteries. Poppy’s likable, but the Grimwood’s nonhuman inhabitants are enchanting: Scary, droll, and delightfully strange, they transform the classic hero’s journey into a sparklingly original adventure featuring assorted elements borrowed from British folklore. Poppy reads as White; the human cast has a range of skin tones.

Spookily thrilling with superlative worldbuilding. (Fantasy. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews