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Review: The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest

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The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest 
Written by Aubrey Hartman 
Illustrations by Marcin Minor 
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2025. 313 pages. 

Clare is the undead fox of Deadwood Forest. Which basically means he is a dead fox who is actually alive and works as an Usher (the animal that helps the other dead animals cross into the Afterlife). Due to the fact that Clare was hit by a car as he died, Clare looks horrific. In fact, Clare looks like a monster. Which is perhaps why so many humans fear the “monster” of deadwood forest and tend to sing horrible chants about him on Halloween. 

One day as Clare is going about his life, a badger named Gingersnipes comes looking for which way to go to the Afterlife (there are four directions: Peace, Progress, Pleasure, and Pain). Only, Gingersnipes tries to go to all of the various and ends up right back on Clare’s doorstep. In search of answers, Claire heads to Hesterfowl (a bird who has visions of the future) to try to determine what to do—only to realize that he doesn’t like her answer and he will do anything to change his fate. 

This is such a clever book! The characters are well written and full of life and personality. The story, though treading on a bit grim and gruesome, is delightful and promotes thought and contemplation. Readers who love a good heartwarming tale with a touch of the macabre will thoroughly enjoy this tale.
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