Osmo Unknown
and the Eightpenny Woods
by Catherynne M. Valente
Flap Copy Description:
Osmo Unknown hungers for the world beyond his small town. With the life that Littlebridge society has planned for him, the only taste Osmo will ever get is his visits to the edge of Fourpenny Woods where his mother hunts. Until the unthinkable happens: his mother accidentally kills a Quidnink, a fearsome and intelligent creature who lives deep in the woods.
None of this should have anything to do with poor Osmo, except that a treaty was once formed between the Quidninx and the people of Littlebridge that neither group would harm the other. Now that a Quidnunk is dead, as the firstborn child of the hunter who killed her, Osmo must embark on a quest to find the Eightpenny Woods - the mysterious kingdom where all forest creatures go when they die - and make amends. Accompanied by a very rude half-badger, half-wombat named Bonk and an antisocial pangolin girl called Never, Osmo will need all his bravery and cleverness to survive the magic of the Eightpenny Woods to save his town...and make it out alive.
My Thoughts:
Award-winning author Catherynne M. Valente has done it again; Osmo Unknown is the latest in her long list of fantasy creations - I loved it! Her dark fairy tale takes the reader on a wild and imaginative journey, where strange beasts abound! I highly recommend this middle grade novel to readers aged eight to twelve.
