Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods

413 pages

English language

Published April 26, 2022 by Margaret K. McElderry Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-4814-7699-7
ASIN:: B075RTWCSS

(1 review)

A fantasy following a boy journeying away from the only home he’s ever known and into the magical realm of the dead in order to fulfill a bargain for his people.

Osmo Unknown hungers for the world beyond his small town. With the life that Littlebridge society has planned for him, the only taste Osmo will ever get are his visits to the edge of the Fourpenny Woods where his mother hunts. Until the unthinkable happens: his mother accidentally kills a Quidnunk, a fearsome and intelligent creature that lives deep in the forest.

None of this should have anything to do with poor Osmo, except that a strange treaty was once formed between the Quidnunx and the people of Littlebridge to ensure that neither group would harm the other. Now that a Quidnunk is dead, as the firstborn child of the hunter who killed her, Osmo must embark on a …

A fantasy following a boy journeying away from the only home he’s ever known and into the magical realm of the dead in order to fulfill a bargain for his people.

Osmo Unknown hungers for the world beyond his small town. With the life that Littlebridge society has planned for him, the only taste Osmo will ever get are his visits to the edge of the Fourpenny Woods where his mother hunts. Until the unthinkable happens: his mother accidentally kills a Quidnunk, a fearsome and intelligent creature that lives deep in the forest.

None of this should have anything to do with poor Osmo, except that a strange treaty was once formed between the Quidnunx and the people of Littlebridge to ensure that neither group would harm the other. Now that a Quidnunk is dead, as the firstborn child of the hunter who killed her, Osmo must embark on a quest to find the Eightpenny Woods—the mysterious kingdom where all wild forest creatures go when they die—and make amends.

Accompanied by a very rude half-badger, half-wombat named Bonk and an antisocial pangolin girl called Never, it will take all of Osmo’s bravery and cleverness to survive the magic of the Eightpenny Woods to save his town…and make it out alive.

1 edition

Andrew Crawford reviewed Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods by Catherynne M. Valente

Adventures are Never What You Expect

5 stars

Some things have two natures. Or three. Or more. Even stories.

Now, I am not saying a respectable story would go putting on airs like a fancy fur coat. It would just end up thin and threadbare. There’s a bit of alchemy of fashion, though, when you take a bit of the familiar here and, mix it with novel new thoughts there. With the right bit of magic, it can come out svelte and stylish – something to make you proud just to be there to see it.

And, without a doubt, you should be there for this tale. Ms. Valente is a moste excellent guide where things are wild. Take her hand and, don’t dream of sleeping on this newly-minted classic.