The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest (Newbery Honor Award Winner) by Aubrey Hartman

A Newbery Honor Award Book! A fox and a badger begrudgingly team up to change their destinies in this endearing middle grade novel.

Clare is the undead fox of Deadwood Forest. Here, leaves grow in a perpetual state of fall: not quite dead, but not quite alive—just like Clare. Long ago, he was struck by a car, and, hovering between life and death, he was given the choice to either cross into the Afterlife or become an Usher of wandering souls.

Clare chose the latter: a solitary life of guiding souls to their final resting place. Clare’s quiet and predictable days are met with upheaval when a badger soul named Gingersnipes knocks on his door. Despite Clare’s efforts to usher her into the Afterlife, the badger is unable to leave Deadwood.

This is unprecedented. Baffling. A disturbing mystery which threatens the delicate balance between the living and the dead. Desperate for help, Clare and Gingersnipes set out on a treacherous journey to find Hesterfowl—the visionary grouse who recently foretold of turmoil in Deadwood.

But upon their arrival, Hesterfowl divulges a shocking revelation that leaves Clare devastated, outraged, and determined to do anything to change his fate.