The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest - Aubrey Hartman - ★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Aubrey Hartman

GENRE: Middle-grade Fantasy

PUBLICATION DATE: February 25, 2025

RATING: 3.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy with an undead fox guiding souls towards the next phase of their “lives”. Good anthropomorphic animal characters, interesting concept, atmospheric writing. Dark in themes and tone. Somewhat ableist in a few scenes. Has some life lessons, though these might be more relevant to adults. I am not sure about its appeal to kids.

Plot Preview:

Clare the fox is the only resident of Deadwood Forest. That is to say, the only *undead* resident. The forest, which is in a perpetual state of autumn, is where souls come to be guided to their final resting place in one of the four realms of the afterlife. Clare is their guide, making sure they reach the realm most suited to them. He has been doing this ever since his own death, and has almost always sent the souls to the right realm. But when a new badger soul named Gingersnipes comes to his door, Clare’s days of routine and stability are over. Despite his best efforts, Gingersnipes isn’t able to move on to any of the realms. Clare is baffled at this unprecedented problem. How can he ensure that she moves on, thereby restoring the balance between the living and the dead? Desperate, Clare undertakes a dangerous journey to meet the seer Hesterfowl, but her shocking prediction leaves Clare with a new challenge.

The story comes to us in the third-person omniscient perspective of a bard telling us Clare’s story.

While most middle-grade (MG) novels work only for their target audience, many MG books work for kids and adults alike. And then there are a few MG novels that might work far better for adults and won’t click the same way with kids. This is in the third category.

Bookish Yays:

🦡 Clare the titular undead fox. A complex character with plenty of greys. His appearance, his personality traits, his emotional conflicts, his desperation – every aspect is touched upon. His learnings form a substantial part of the story.

🦡 Gingersnipes the badger. Love how snarky and lively she was though she clearly had some confidence issues. An better character for me than Clare was.

🦡 The conversations between Clare and Gingersnipes. Witty banter and repartee balanced by heartfelt admissions.

🦡 The Deadwood Forest. The perfect setting for a place that guides souls to their afterlife! The autumnal vibe comes across strongly.

🦡 The concept of the four realms and what they each stand for: interesting! Seems partially mythological, but as nothing religious is mentioned outright, it helps the book stay neutral.

🦡 The multitude of themes in the book: love, loss, death, self-confidence, letting go,… All the themes have deep implications that will be better when explored with an adult.

🦡 The vocabulary! Always love it when MG books don’t oversimplify language.

🦡 The use of the third-person omniscient narrative voice. Rare to see this in any fiction these days. The narration was exactly as an oral narration should be, making Clare’s story sound like a recounted story and speaking to the listeners in interludes. Just a few days ago, I reviewed an indie story collection where the stories were supposedly from a raconteur but it messed up the raconteur’s voice. What I wanted from that book is provided in this book; it captures the storytelling tone perfectly!

🦡 The cover: so eye-catching!

Bookish Okays:

🦊 The plotline. Quite unusual especially for a MG fantasy. It is fascinating but also very dark. It might not be for all middle-graders, especially because some of the content can get quite upsetting.

🦊 The name ‘Clare’. As far as I know, Clare is a female name, so it is very tough to think of a male fox while reading ‘Clare’. Then again, kids might not be confused by this as most names are new to them.

🦊 The pacing. Very much on the slower side, which is probably okay in adult fiction but an unpopular writing choice for a MG book with 300+ pages.

Bookish Nays:

🍄 Not much explanation about the fantastical aspects of the afterlife. What you see is what you get. Many things are left unclarified, especially about the guide’s selection.

🍄 Shades of ableism, coming from Clare’s lack of happiness with his appearance (specifically, his one empty eye socket) and considering himself a monster for the same. Not a good decision to have such content in a children’s book without some kind of a positive realisation at the end.

🍄 The post-finale scene contains a slight cliffhanger, though the main plot is closed neatly. I am not sure if this is being planned as a series, but as the cliffhanger comes out of nowhere, it better be a series.

🍄 The final chapter containing the narrator’s identity reveal. Not a fan of this revelation at all! Moreover, this closes the door on who will take the story ahead, if there is indeed some plan of offering a resolution to the cliffhanger in future.

🎧 The Audiobook Experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 6 hrs 28 min, is narrated by Marisa Calin. Her voice was a bit too soft for my middle-aged ears, but otherwise, she was fabulous, sounding exactly as a children's storybook narrator should, with exaggerated enunciation, dramatic emotions, and varying voice modulation and volume. I love how she stayed in character even for the opening and ending credits. If you want this book for your children, the audio is an amazing option.

Overall, while this MG fantasy has several positive elements, it also misses some good opportunities. Given the darkish storyline, the grey lead character, the slow tempo, and the ableist content, I don’t see it being that appealing to kids, except for the anthropomorphic animals. Many of the above Yays come from my perspective as an adult reader, but a few of them might not be universally loved points. Then again, this was a nominee for the Newbery Honor Award 2026, so what do I know!?

Recommended to children who enjoy darker introspective stories with morally grey anthropomorphic leads. Better if read and discussed with an adult.