The Grace of Wild Things (2023) by Heather Fawcett is a fantasy adaptation of L.M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables. The story is 368 pages in length, and it is an imaginative re-telling of the classic story. Fawcett's tale is about a magical orphan named Grace who becomes the apprentice of a dangerous witch in the woods.
In an essay at The New York Times, Catherine Hong reviewed several modern adaptations of Anne of Green Gables. Hong describes The Grace of Wild Things as, "The least obvious Anne reboot of all, this middle-grade fantasy is about a hotheaded young sorceress named Grace who persuades a terrifying child-eating witch to take her in as an apprentice. The touchstone scenes are all here. But the truest homage it pays is in conveying a child’s intense connection to home."
Emma Kantor interviewed Heather Fawcett in an article for Publishers Weekly where Fawcett described her bond with Anne Shirley saying, "I felt a strong connection to Anne immediately as someone who also enjoyed making up stories about ordinary things." She described her early experience reading Anne of Green Gables by saying, "My first impression was that it read like a fairy tale—there was a sense of the enchanted in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s descriptions, through Anne, of Prince Edward Island and Green Gables itself."
Fawcett explained her motivation to re-imagine Anne's story saying, "I’ve always wanted to retell Anne of Green Gables as fantasy, because I think the story lends itself well to that sort of thing, with Anne’s imagination adding supernatural flourishes to what is overall a fairly down-to-earth narrative about school and relationships and mishaps with baking and what not."
Although the fantasy re-telling is not a faithful scene-by-scene recreation of Anne's story, Fawcett explained that she aimed "to preserve the heart of the story and the core architecture." She went on to say, "Anne of Green Gables, to me, has always been first and foremost about the idea of home; it’s about an orphan girl who has never known what that is, not only because she’s an orphan but because she’s different."
Here is the description of the book from HarperCollins Publishers:
An inventive and fantastical reimagining of Anne of Green Gables—with magic and witches!—that explores found family, loss, and the power of a girl's imagination, from the acclaimed author of The Language of Ghosts and The School Between Winter and Fairyland. Perfect for readers who loved The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Serafina and the Black Cloak.
"A magical, witchy, and thoroughly successful homage to a classic." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Grace has never been good at anything except magic—not that anyone believes her.
While other children are adopted from the orphanage, nobody wants Grace. So she decides to make a home for herself by running away and offering herself as an apprentice to the witch in the nearby woods. After all, who better to teach Grace to use her magic? Surely the witch can’t be that bad.
But the witch is that bad—she steals souls for spells and gobbles up hearts. So Grace offers a deal: If she can learn all 100½ spells in the witch’s grimoire, the witch will make Grace her apprentice. But if Grace fails, the witch can take her magic. The witch agrees, and soon an unexpected bond develops between them.
But the spells are much harder than Grace expected, and when a monster from the witch’s past threatens the home Grace has built, she may have to sacrifice more than her magic to save it.
"An exuberant tale of belonging and hope."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This alternative-universe romp is perfect for those who like their fantasy light and sentimental and enjoy a bit of L. M. Montgomery pastiche."
—The Horn Book
ISBN-13: 978-0063142626
Image credit:
Book cover of The Grace of Wild Things.
References:
Hong, Catherine. (November 4, 2022). Anne of Everywhere: Suddenly, remakes and adaptations of L.M. Montgomery’s “Anne of Green Gables” series are proliferating. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/books/review/anne-of-green-gables-reboots.html.
Kantor, Emma. (September 1, 2022). Kindred Spirits: Children's Authors Reimagine 'Anne of Green Gables.' Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/90208-kindred-spirits-children-s-authors-reimagine-anne-of-green-gables.html.
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Created Feb 25, 2023. Last updated September 18, 2025.
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