A Game of Fox & Squirrels
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A 2021 Oregon Book Award Winner
An NPR Best Book of 2020
A Finalist for the 2021-22 Maine Student Book Award
A 2021 Mythopoeic Awards Finalist
Andre Norton Award finalist Jenn Reese explores the often thin line between magic and reality, light and darkness in her enchanting middle grade standalone.
"Brings to life, viscerally, what it is like to live in fear of abuse—even after the abuse itself is over. But there is magic here too, and the promise of a better future that comes with learning to let people who care about you into your world." —Alan Gratz, New York Times-bestselling author of Refugee
“A captivating and touching story… both whimsical and emotionally—sometimes frighteningly—compelling.” —Ingrid Law, Newbery Honor-winning author of Savvy
"Magically creative and deeply honest, A Game of Fox & Squirrels merges games and grimness in a fantasy tale that tells the truth." —Elana K. Arnold, Printz Honor-winning author of Damsel and A Boy Called Bat
After an incident shatters their family, eleven-year old Samantha and her older sister Caitlin are sent to live in rural Oregon with an aunt they've never met. Sam wants nothing more than to go back to the way things were… before she spoke up about their father's anger.
When Aunt Vicky gives Sam a mysterious card game called "A Game of Fox & Squirrels," Sam falls in love with the animal characters, especially the charming trickster fox, Ashander. Then one day Ashander shows up in Sam’s room and offers her an adventure and a promise: find the Golden Acorn, and Sam can have anything she desires.
But the fox is hiding rules that Sam isn't prepared for, and her new home feels more tempting than she'd ever expected. As Sam is swept up in the dangerous quest, the line between magic and reality grows thin. If she makes the wrong move, she'll lose far more than just a game.
Perfect for fans of Barbara O'Connor, Lauren Wolk, and Ali Benjamin, A Game of Fox & Squirrels is a stunning, heartbreaking novel about a girl who finds the light in the darkness... and ultimately discovers the true meaning of home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Reese (the Above World series) sketches a poignant fantastical allegory focusing on the desperate tolls exacted by mental and physical abuse. When their father breaks Caitlin's arm, 13-year-old Caitlin and her 11-year-old sister, Samantha, are relocated from their parents' Los Angeles home to rural Oregon, where they will stay indefinitely with their estranged paternal aunt, Vicky, and Vicky's wife, Hannah. Despite the impossible rules and systems that she and Caitlin have grown up navigating, Sam can't understand why they have to "visit" Oregon; her favorite books have taught her that "heroes always home." After receiving the titular card game from Aunt Vicky, Sam is surprised when a wily fox named Ashander, as well as his emissaries, three friendly anthropomorphic squirrels, appear, offering her heart's desire for a steep price. Yet Oregon isn't horrible, and Sam must decide whether fulfilling the fox's escalating ultimatums is worth disrupting the stable, love-filled life Caitlin and Sam are settling into. The accessible narrative presents generational trauma and its echoes unflinchingly, encouraging readers in similar situations to seek community and help from trusted adults. An author's note leads to a website with resources; final art not seen by PW. Ages 10 14.