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Brave in the Woods
A girl descended from the Grimm brothers sets out to break what she thinks is a family curse.
Twelve-year-old Juni is convinced her family is cursed. Long ago, her ancestors, the Grimm Brothers, offended a witch who cursed them and their descendants to suffer through their beloved fairy tales over and over again—to be at the mercy of extreme luck, both good and bad. Juni fears any good luck allotted to her family she used up just by being born, so when she wakes up in the middle of the night with the horrible feeling like antlers are growing from her head, she knows something is wrong. The next day she learns her older brother Connor has gone missing during his tour in Afghanistan.
Her family begins grieving his loss in their own ways but Juni can’t help but believe that his disappearance means the family curse has struck again. Juni is convinced the only way to bring her brother home is to break the family curse and so she sets out on a quest to do just that.
Twelve-year-old Juni is convinced her family is cursed. Long ago, her ancestors, the Grimm Brothers, offended a witch who cursed them and their descendants to suffer through their beloved fairy tales over and over again—to be at the mercy of extreme luck, both good and bad. Juni fears any good luck allotted to her family she used up just by being born, so when she wakes up in the middle of the night with the horrible feeling like antlers are growing from her head, she knows something is wrong. The next day she learns her older brother Connor has gone missing during his tour in Afghanistan.
Her family begins grieving his loss in their own ways but Juni can’t help but believe that his disappearance means the family curse has struck again. Juni is convinced the only way to bring her brother home is to break the family curse and so she sets out on a quest to do just that.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2020
4 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 19, 2025
I picked this up on a whim at the library because the cover and title intrigued me. I’m so glad I did and I cried at the end. A beautiful middle grade novel about growing up, looking for magic, and facing loss — alongside family and friends.
May 18, 2021
As usual, Tracy takes us on an emotional journey of discovery as Juni navigates her feelings about her brother's disappearance. This is a tender, heartfelt story about family, friendship, and finding courage in dark times.
February 16, 2021
Beautiful story that will pull on your heartstrings! A story with a quest that is full of hope.
June 1, 2023
Middle grade making me cry, what’s this
March 29, 2021
3.5 stars rounded up
It’s only natural, when you have an ancestral connection to someone like the Grimm brothers, that you would make something of that in your life, right? You might think there is some kind of connection or special relation to something related to the legacy of the Grimm brothers. If you’re 12, it might even be more tempting to make something of the connection to the Grimm brothers, especially if your family has alluded to it over the years. That brings us to the premise of Brave in the Woods. Personally, I thought this was a really cool way to explain some of the magical happenings in the book. I do have a complaint right off the bat, though. There wasn’t nearly enough development regarding this connection. I swear that the Grimm brothers were only mentioned like three times in the whole book. If you’re going to go with it, go with it. Make it something. There are plenty of places to get ancestral magic in writing, and indeed a couple of the women in this book were witches or had magical or folk magical remedies and inklings. There really wasn’t any connection developed by Holczer to the Grimm brothers, other than just saying it. I think it was a missed opportunity. It could have really been something, and at the least it could have been a way to explain to middle grade readers about some very famous authors who basically transformed an entire genre. Like I said—a missed opportunity. The whole book I was waiting for a cool development or connection to the Grimm brothers and there just wasn’t. And if there was, it was subtle enough that I missed it and I don’t mean to toot my own horn but if I missed it, and I was looking for it and know the Grimm brothers, I can’t imagine that a middle grade reader would catch it and understand it. Just sayin’.
However, I don’t think the book really needed the Grimm brothers. It was a very cool opportunity, but since it wasn’t taken, I think that it just sort of set expectations that weren’t there. These expectations could have been fulfilled without the Grimm brothers. There are many stories, like this one, that rely on ancestral magic passed down by witches or women with powers in the family and it’s all good. That would have made it a lot more natural than throwing in the Grimm brothers who really didn’t have anything to do with anything. Okay. You get it.
So there was some cool magic and mysticism going on, and it’s just the kind I like—it’s there, it means something, but it’s not so blatant that it couldn’t be believable. I always like the idea that there’s a little something that exists just outside of our knowledge. I think it captures the beliefs of the middle grade audience quite well. They’re on the cusp of knowing Things, and yet they’re just enough far removed from it that there is still a strong possibility of magic and unexplained situations that work.
I thought this book did a great job of addressing a very real hurt—that of losing a sibling to war. I have read a few books that deal with losing a sibling that took place in past wars—WWII especially—but this is a recent setting with modern technology and takes place in a world where it seems the unknown has shrunken. I liked the hope that Juni had, and her personal quest to fulfill that hope. I felt like it was an authentic portrayal of what a sibling would feel with such a loss.
I enjoyed the writing in this book, and I enjoyed the relationship between some of the characters. I wish the characters would have been more developed, and strangely, I kind of got confused about who was who, especially with the time hopping with Anya’s journal entries. I think my main problem was figuring out the relationship between all the different characters and who they were. This wasn’t explored much, and if the reader missed the maybe one sentence that explained it, too bad for you. It seemed like the characters had been very developed in the author’s mind and maybe we weren’t all let in on the secret as much as I would have liked.
Overall, I think this book has a really good message. The writing style and explanation of characters as well as the lack of the explanation of the Grimm brothers and their relationship to All the Things are things that I noticed as a person who reads and reviews a lot. I feel like the middle grade audience may have struggles with some of these things to a lesser degree but be able to understand the book for what it is—a heartbreaking yet sweet acceptance of losing a sibling and what that means.
Read my full review here: https://www.readingforsanity.com/2021...
It’s only natural, when you have an ancestral connection to someone like the Grimm brothers, that you would make something of that in your life, right? You might think there is some kind of connection or special relation to something related to the legacy of the Grimm brothers. If you’re 12, it might even be more tempting to make something of the connection to the Grimm brothers, especially if your family has alluded to it over the years. That brings us to the premise of Brave in the Woods. Personally, I thought this was a really cool way to explain some of the magical happenings in the book. I do have a complaint right off the bat, though. There wasn’t nearly enough development regarding this connection. I swear that the Grimm brothers were only mentioned like three times in the whole book. If you’re going to go with it, go with it. Make it something. There are plenty of places to get ancestral magic in writing, and indeed a couple of the women in this book were witches or had magical or folk magical remedies and inklings. There really wasn’t any connection developed by Holczer to the Grimm brothers, other than just saying it. I think it was a missed opportunity. It could have really been something, and at the least it could have been a way to explain to middle grade readers about some very famous authors who basically transformed an entire genre. Like I said—a missed opportunity. The whole book I was waiting for a cool development or connection to the Grimm brothers and there just wasn’t. And if there was, it was subtle enough that I missed it and I don’t mean to toot my own horn but if I missed it, and I was looking for it and know the Grimm brothers, I can’t imagine that a middle grade reader would catch it and understand it. Just sayin’.
However, I don’t think the book really needed the Grimm brothers. It was a very cool opportunity, but since it wasn’t taken, I think that it just sort of set expectations that weren’t there. These expectations could have been fulfilled without the Grimm brothers. There are many stories, like this one, that rely on ancestral magic passed down by witches or women with powers in the family and it’s all good. That would have made it a lot more natural than throwing in the Grimm brothers who really didn’t have anything to do with anything. Okay. You get it.
So there was some cool magic and mysticism going on, and it’s just the kind I like—it’s there, it means something, but it’s not so blatant that it couldn’t be believable. I always like the idea that there’s a little something that exists just outside of our knowledge. I think it captures the beliefs of the middle grade audience quite well. They’re on the cusp of knowing Things, and yet they’re just enough far removed from it that there is still a strong possibility of magic and unexplained situations that work.
I thought this book did a great job of addressing a very real hurt—that of losing a sibling to war. I have read a few books that deal with losing a sibling that took place in past wars—WWII especially—but this is a recent setting with modern technology and takes place in a world where it seems the unknown has shrunken. I liked the hope that Juni had, and her personal quest to fulfill that hope. I felt like it was an authentic portrayal of what a sibling would feel with such a loss.
I enjoyed the writing in this book, and I enjoyed the relationship between some of the characters. I wish the characters would have been more developed, and strangely, I kind of got confused about who was who, especially with the time hopping with Anya’s journal entries. I think my main problem was figuring out the relationship between all the different characters and who they were. This wasn’t explored much, and if the reader missed the maybe one sentence that explained it, too bad for you. It seemed like the characters had been very developed in the author’s mind and maybe we weren’t all let in on the secret as much as I would have liked.
Overall, I think this book has a really good message. The writing style and explanation of characters as well as the lack of the explanation of the Grimm brothers and their relationship to All the Things are things that I noticed as a person who reads and reviews a lot. I feel like the middle grade audience may have struggles with some of these things to a lesser degree but be able to understand the book for what it is—a heartbreaking yet sweet acceptance of losing a sibling and what that means.
Read my full review here: https://www.readingforsanity.com/2021...
June 22, 2021
This touching middle grade novel is a 3.5 for me. The author approaches the subjects of loss, grief, and acceptance with grace, elegance, and understanding. Twelve-year-old Juniper (Juni) had a particularly close relationship with her older brother Connor. He was even present at her birth. But now, a month after the family learned that he was missing during a mission in Afghanistan, Juni wants some answers. She seems to be the only person in her family that believes Connor will eventually be found and return home. When she learns that his service dog Elsie has been given to another military family at her parents' request, Juni is furious and determined to retrieve the dog, a golden retriever. Having been reared with stories about how her ancestors, descendants of the Brothers Grimm, were cursed by a witch for a betrayal, Juni searches through all the legends and folktales she can find and decides that bringing Elsie home will be her quest. She knows that quests often require sacrifices, but she isn't sure what that will entail. With support from her friends, Mason, Gabby, and Luca, her brother's best friend, Juni bravely embarks on her journey. Along the way, she reads her grandmother Anya's book and learns about her heartbreak. The author effectively captures the thoughts and emotions of someone Juni's age and the difficulty in accepting hard truths and then moving forward somehow. The book also explores how the stories we tell ourselves and others about ourselves define us and determine to some extent the choices we make as well as how challenging it is to know what our truth is.
January 24, 2021
If you haven't read any of Tracy's novels, do.
Tracy weaves words together like Carole King did in writing Tapestry.
Tracy is masterful in coloring with words that make turning each page too easy, because it brings us closer to the end of the story.
I always need a Viva paper towel while reading Tracy's work. She touches the readers heartstrings in all of her stories and Brave In The Woods is no exception.
Thank you Tracy. I'm looking forward to your next novel.
Tracy weaves words together like Carole King did in writing Tapestry.
Tracy is masterful in coloring with words that make turning each page too easy, because it brings us closer to the end of the story.
I always need a Viva paper towel while reading Tracy's work. She touches the readers heartstrings in all of her stories and Brave In The Woods is no exception.
Thank you Tracy. I'm looking forward to your next novel.
April 5, 2021
Tracy Holczer is becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books are so understated and I think, under appreciated. I loved EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE and thought it deserved more literary love than it received. I hope this one doesn’t fly under the radar. It was heartbreaking and heart warming. (Why did it have to be heartbreaking?!) Favorite Quote “Sometimes, you have to tell yourself a story until you can tell yourself the truth.” I highly recommend this book.
June 15, 2025
i really like the idea of the plot and the concept of the themes for this book, but the writing just didn’t work for me. i was getting bored throughout and was losing track of the plot. i would have to double-back to figure out what was going on. after finishing it, i felt like i couldn’t relay anything about the book. a lot of the plot tools just didn’t make sense to me. it was cute i just didn’t enjoy it as much as i expected to.
August 25, 2025
A very heartfelt, genuine story of loss and grief. The relationships of the characters and the characters themselves were very real, although I admit I had trouble keeping track of who was who, who was related and who were just friends, especially when a story regarding the past is interspersed between. Still, I liked this journey and the portrayal of a young girl coping with grief and holding onto hope.
February 9, 2021
I love a quest - and this is a magical one! Holczer has crafted a beautiful tale steeped in emotion and longing, with deeply drawn characters who will tug at your heart. Juni's story is so personal, yet universal. This is the kind of book that reminds us of the magic of storytelling. Highly recommend.
July 30, 2022
Juni has always heard stories of how her family is descendants of the Grimm Brothers and how they are cursed. When her brother, Conner, goes MIA in Afghanistan, Juni decided the only way to bring him back is a fairy tale quest. This story deals with coping with loss and grief, friendship, growing up, and family connections. This story did start out a little slow but it really draws you in.
April 24, 2022
Depicts a main character who has asthma and is working through grief for her missing brother. Pacing is wonderful with reveals at just the right spot. I like the intergenerational exploration with Juniper's grandmother. The quest was perfect.
July 11, 2022
I liked the premise of this one. It is geared towards children which I didn’t realize and I was expecting something different with a supernatural element which this isn’t. A story of grief, loss, acceptance and love explored through the eyes of a child.
January 23, 2021
Such a good read. Tracy Holczer’s writing is always stunning, and the story of Juni’s journey plus the mystery of her family’s past made this one hard to put down.
February 21, 2021
Well written . How can the stories of the past inform our future. I would recommend this, I was fortunate to get an autographed copy that I will share.
March 20, 2021
Action, adventure, magic, strong female protagonist
Overcoming and accepting grief
Overcoming and accepting grief
May 20, 2021
Read this review and others at https://www.readingforsanity.com/2021...
June 19, 2021
Believing in a curse to her family, Junie deals with the MIA status of her brother, Connor.
September 15, 2021
This a beautiful story full of love and loss, and a little bit of magic and mystery too. I really felt connected to Juni and enjoyed reading about her journey.
Read
August 7, 2022Sometimes you just need a "feel good" book, and I needed one this week. A beautiful read.
March 21, 2021
Full review: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=2...
Brave in the Woods is the story of grief, hope, true friendship, love, and truth. With Holczer’s brilliance of story telling, just about every emotion is felt while reading this novel as Juni goes through all of the emotions alongside us. And with just a dash of magical realism, the story has a magical feeling weaved throughout it from beginning to end.
Add to these emotions a road trip, fun and unique characters, a dog (and a ornery cat), and a quirky family history, and you have a must read middle grade novel for so many readers who need this story.
Brave in the Woods is the story of grief, hope, true friendship, love, and truth. With Holczer’s brilliance of story telling, just about every emotion is felt while reading this novel as Juni goes through all of the emotions alongside us. And with just a dash of magical realism, the story has a magical feeling weaved throughout it from beginning to end.
Add to these emotions a road trip, fun and unique characters, a dog (and a ornery cat), and a quirky family history, and you have a must read middle grade novel for so many readers who need this story.
January 27, 2021
(ARC through Edelweiss)
“All good journeys end by facing the truth”
This story is about grief and hope and the things we tell ourselves to fill or explain those voids in our hearts.
I loved the main character Juni and all the people surrounding her. Tracy Holczer weaves in elements of magical realism, humor, a family story about a curse (fitting for a descendant of the Brothers Grimm) and a journey—all while Juni is unraveling the layers of grief over her missing brother. This book is heartfelt and beautiful.
“All good journeys end by facing the truth”
This story is about grief and hope and the things we tell ourselves to fill or explain those voids in our hearts.
I loved the main character Juni and all the people surrounding her. Tracy Holczer weaves in elements of magical realism, humor, a family story about a curse (fitting for a descendant of the Brothers Grimm) and a journey—all while Juni is unraveling the layers of grief over her missing brother. This book is heartfelt and beautiful.
January 21, 2021
Such a powerful novel detailing Juni's journey through grief and acceptance when her older brother goes missing in Afghanistan. Thank you Edelweiss for the ARC.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews