The Witch in the Woods (Grimmworld #1)

by Michaelbrent Collings (Author)

The Witch in the Woods (Grimmworld #1)
Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
Series: Grimmworld

Strange and terrifying things are happening in New Marburg: people are disappearing and changing into characters from the Grimm fairy tales.

When twins Willow and Jake Grimm move to the isolated town where their parents work for a top-secret Think Tank, they are amazed to discover a place where people jetpack to work, robots direct traffic, and senior citizens battle with lightning-swords. But after a freak lightning storm, which transforms the twins' school into a medieval castle--complete with a moat, drawbridge, and a giant who looks strangely like the school's overly aggressive hall monitor--the twins discover the truth: just like their ancestors, the original Brothers Grimm, Willow ad Jake are Grimmwalkers.

And just like their ancestors, they have been transported to the place where all fairy tales are born. The most dangerous place in existence: Grimmworld. But before the twins can figure out how to get home, they learn their best friends have been transformed into the fairy tale characters Hansel and Gretel and have been imprisoned by a candy-obsessed wicked witch. Now, aided only by their wits, their courage, and their love for each other, the twins must venture deep into the Cursed Forest to save themselves and their friends. And maybe--just maybe--save the universe from falling into the clutches of the witch in the woods.

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Kirkus

A fairy-tale mash-up for diehard Grimm fans.

Publishers Weekly

When 11-year-old twins Willow and Jake move from Los Angeles to New Marburg, Idaho, they quickly learn that everything is not as it seems, especially once their parents begin new jobs at the New Marburg Think Tank, or the Tank, "a place full of Very Smart People who would perhaps change the world (according to Mom), if they didn't blow it up first (according to Dad)." New Marburg proper seems just as mysterious as the Tank; it's a town filled with robot cops and flying cars that also endures odd electrical storms at night. Upon beginning school at New Marburg Kinderversity, the twins contend with strict, scary teacher Mrs. Houseman, who resents them for reasons they don't understand. After their father experiences a breakthrough at the Tank during a terrible tempest, Willow and Jake awaken in Grimmworld, a parallel universe where fairytales are real. If the twins hope to return to their dimension, they must team up with a magic being named Old Eli and delve into Grimmworld's mysterious origins which, they learn, is connected to their own family's past. Utilizing suspenseful, sometimes frightening, elements, familiar fantasy tropes, fun and whimsical worldbuilding, and characters from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Collings (Light-Years from Home) crafts a fresh fantasy series opener with a multiverse spin. Ages 9-12. (Mar.)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Michaelbrent Collings
Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally bestselling novelist, produced screenwriter, and speaker.

Michaelbrent has also received critical acclaim: he is the only person who has ever been a finalist for a Bram Stoker Award (twice), a Dragon Award (twice), and a RONE Award, and he and his work have been reviewed or featured on everything from Publishers Weekly to Scream Magazine to NPR.

An engaging and entertaining speaker, he is also a frequent guest at comic cons and on writing podcasts like Six figure Authors, The Creative Penn, Writing Excuses, and others, and is a mental health advocate, TEDx speaker, and the creator of the writing instruction platform Bestseller Life.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781639932320
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Shadow Mountain
Publication date
March 05, 2024
Series
Grimmworld
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
Library of Congress categories
Characters in literature
Friendship
Magic
Witches
Fantasy fiction
Twins
JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic
JUVENILE FICTION / Fairy Tales & Folklore / A
Forests and forestry
Siblings
Novels

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