The Grimsbane Family Witch Hunters

by Joan Reardon

Netflix’s Wednesday meets Jodi Lynn Anderson’s The Memory Thief in this creepy and high-stakes middle grade adventure about a girl’s quest to save her cursed brother that takes her through perilous, monster-filled woods.

The Grimsbane women have been hunting witches and monsters for generations—ever since the Watcher, the most powerful witch in the Midwest, cursed the Grimsbane men to die untimely and unusual deaths. Part-time skater, full-time troublemaker Anna Grimsbane may be only twelve, but she’s been learning about hunting her whole life and is tired of waiting to do the real thing. She and her twin brother Billy are about to turn thirteen, the age the curse takes hold, and Anna wants to be on the front lines fighting to break it.

Only hours before he’ll become an accident-prone walking disaster, Billy runs away to find the Watcher himself. The Grimsbane women are all out on patrol, leaving it up to Anna and her friends Suvi and Rosario to find Billy before his recklessness hastens his demise. But the woods are crawling with cryptids, most of whom hate humans, and all of whom hate the Grimsbanes, and the deeper Anna gets into the forest, the clearer it is that reading about witch hunting is no replacement for practical experience.

Anna feels in over her head, especially as she starts to suspect she knows much less about her family history than she’d thought. As she races against the clock to find Billy before midnight, it becomes all too evident that he isn’t the only Grimsbane at risk for a grisly death tonight.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Witches

336 pages, Hardcover

Published August 20, 2024

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! The Grimsbanes are an interesting family where the men in the family have a curse that makes them all die in unusual and strange deaths and the women are witch hunters who are trying to break the curse. This is a really good book and I have already read it twice, I would recommend it for ages 10-13. It has lots of supernatural elements and and interesting premise. I give it five stars because if how cool and creative and spooky it is.

ARC from Two Thumbs Up at McNally Robinson

- Katherine📚

[Michael David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading through this book is like watching one of those seasonal Halloween movies like *Hocus Pocus*. This book was a lovely read as it actually lets the action of monster-hunting take a backseat and instead hones its focus on its characters. Almost every time, without question, I would prefer to read about characters.

What I find most enticing about this book (aside from the stellar plot hook of the Grimsbane family curse) is Anna's character arc, which I'll explain below after the obligatory:

*SPOILER WARNING*

Anna must deconstruct her family's history of being, frankly, monstrous killers. As she embarks on the quest to break her family's curse and save her brother Billy, she begins to learn that the people and "monsters" her family has villified for centuries are not really what they were made out to be. While not necessarily using the terminology, the book paints a very clear picture of how the Grimsbanes participated in the ethnic cleansing of witches and cryptids from their town, Witchless (you can imagine how it got the name).

I found Anna's journey of deconstruction of her family's history to be an intriguing read, especially since she discovers her best friend happens to be a bruja, a kind of witch. All of this is treated rather realistically, as Anna doesn't immediately flip a switch in her mind to say her family is a bunch of monsters. That's because (despite them still hunting and killing cryptids) they are good people. She has to wrestle with these contradictions in her mind and come to terms with it, ultimately learning that she must be better than those who came before her. Which ultimately leads to the breaking of the curse.

Stories like this are ones that I find vitally important to provide to your children as they can address immoral events within a framework that makes them approachable and age-apropriate to introduce concepts that are, honestly, difficult to broach for many people. Yet, at the same time, it is very fun and light-hearted despite these heavy subject matters. Reardon did a phenomenal job in capturing the subject matters in such a perfectly balanced way between Halloween hijinks and serious discussion.

Some may think I'm pompous with this being the main takeaway from the book (and that's fine, because I kinda am) but I feel as though-- especially now-- we should be highlighting these works of art that invite critical thought and discussion not only for children who are just learning these concepts, but also many adults as well.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive and ARC of this fabulous book from the publisher. This novel is the perfect blend of spook, humor, and growing up. As a teacher, I plan on adding this to my classroom library. If I were teaching in a middle school, I wouldn't hesitate to add this into my rotation of novels that I teach. The pacing is spot on as we follow Anna on her quest to protect her brother. I loved the creatures (I want a Taileybone plush, thank you very much) are phenomenal and I loved how each of them helped Anna to grow throughout her story.
I can't wait to read more of Reardon's work in the future!

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t believe this book has such high ratings.

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Aladdin books for this advanced reader's copy. This book was so much fun. The Grimsbane family of women have always hunted witches and monsters, but the men have been cursed for just as long. The men are cursed to die young and unusual deaths. Anna and Billy are twins, and both are about to turn thirteen. This is the age that Anna will learn to become a hunter. This is also the age that the curse will take affect for Billy. Only hours before midnight, Billy runs away to find the Watcher, the witch who cursed the Grimsbane family generations ago. Anna teams up with her friends, Suvi and Rosario to find Billy before the curse takes effect. As Anna and her friends head into the woods to look for Billy and the Watcher, Anna realizes she may not know the truth about those around her and her real family history. She must face up to what really happened in the past to save her brother and her entire family. This was a great book about not judging people and forgiveness.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spooky Halloween read full of action and emotion! Anna and Billy are 12-year-old twins born into the cursed Grimsbane family. For over 300 years, at age 13, the boys in the family are at risk of horrible death so they are taken out of school and work in the family’s funeral home. At age 16, the women of the family become witch hunters. The twins had hoped the curse would have been broken by now, but all hope seems lost when before their birthday Billy begs to stay in school, saying he isn’t ready to retreat from the world, while Anna makes her case to go monster hunting early to change their destiny. These are such emotional scenes! My heart truly broke for them, and it all set up for me to believe what happened next: Billy runs away to try to break the curse himself and Anna follows to save him on Halloween, the one day of the year Grimsbanes aren’t supposed to hunt! This is an action-packed monster book perfectly timed for Halloween reads this fall, but wow!!! it is also a powerful story of siblings and families (whether human, witch, or cryptid), reckoning with the wrongs of one’s ancestors, and the act of love it can be to change what your family had always taught you in order to create a new future. ARC read

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars.

Four stars with an extra quarter star for a local author. Stumbled across this book at signing at Barnes & Noble and glad I did.

Middle grade horror is as scary as I can do. And while I felt this book slanted toward the younger part of middle school, the scary parts were just scary enough! I couldn't have handled any more. Although monster names like "Taileybones" and the president showing up made it seem younger at times.

Over all, this was an easy and enjoyable read and I'd definitely read a sequel to learn more about this world and characters.

[USOM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Grimsbane Family Witch Hunters is perfect for adults who want to give their kids a story about the subjectivity of history. Of the idea that history is always from someone's perspective and it's important to question what that lens is. What those motivations might be. It's a theme that grows in the way it develops, but one that I absolutely adored in The Grimsbane Family Witch Hunters. With the curse, The Grimsbane Family Witch Hunters asks us if all monsters are 'bad'. If we might be stuck in a cycle of perceived monstrosity.

[William Valentini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very nice read. A book all about the meaning of legacy, history, overcoming prejudices, and questioning what you think you know/have been told, Joan is able to put very adult themes into a book that has a fun, wacky and (sometimes) scary/griping world. A very good book, especially for its middle school audience, but also fun for an adult who is looking for a light read. Way to go Joan on your first magnum opus!

[Jen Nishi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was a good balance of heart and spooky. I do wish we got into a little bit more about the friends who actually played a big part in the narrative but overall I believe this book is quite good!

[yujin ꩜ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the grimsbane family witch hunters was such a fun, spooky read! anna’s journey to protect her brother had the perfect mix of spooky creatures and real character growth. the pacing kept me hooked, and the blend of magic and heart made it totally worth the read.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

[Caleb Knauff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming romp through a paranormal world laced with real world lessons in conflict management, self-discovery, and how to make a real apology.

[Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens · Rating 4 out of 5]

During a quest to try to save her twin brother, Anna must confront her fears about living up to her family’s legacy.

[Suzanne Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! Life lessons involving friends, family and all the things in between! A scary fun read!

[Angie Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

A really interesting fantasy that deals with perception and kindness.

[S.B. Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun, spooky, face-paced read. The FMC is smart, brave and instantly likeable. I really enjoyed this one and can see adding it to my re-read pile of fall/halloween favourites!

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never really connected with this one. I don't know if it was tone, or pacing, or I just generally didn't like the characters but it was not my favorite.

[Sarafina]

*DNF*
I used to really enjoy spooky middle grade, I think as I walk closer with The Lord it’s harder for me to justify reading something centered around darkness. Some spooky middle grade books still have a sense of fun about them and some are way too dark. I think for me this one started out fun then just became weird and then I feel like there may be rituals in this and I just don’t want to go down that road.