Wolf Hour, written by Sara Lewis Holmes, reviewed by Kalie Mehaffy

Summary: Magia is a young girl who lives with her family at the edge of a dangerous, magical forest called the Puszcza. Everyone in town is afraid of this forest, for it sucks people in and traps them in Stories - fairy tale stories that they cannot escape, no matter how hard they try - that drives them mad, everyone, that is, except for Magia and her Tata (father). Tata is a woodcutter who travels into the forest every day, kept safe by his red cap, to cut wood to sell to the townspeople. Magia is his youngest daughter, and she desperately wants to be a woodcutter just like her Tata, although her mother wants her to be a famous singer in the city. Inside the forest lives a wolf named Martin, who wants to be left alone and left out of the Stories, although that may not be as easy as it seems. Magia travels to the city with her brother and sister to take singing lessons to appease her mother, and ends up encountering a witch, and getting thrown into a story she desperately wants to change in order to save her family - and perhaps add a new member to her little family.

Straight Talk for Librarians: The Wolf Hour by Sara Lewis Holmes is a delightful twist on Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. As someone who enjoys twisted fairy tales, this book absolutely checked off that twisted fairy tale box. The story was extremely compelling in the way that the characters interacted, and I absolutely agree with the review when it says that this story is a meditation of fate and expectations. I do think that at times, the Polish terms could be a bit challenging, although I did love the tone it added to the book. I think it could be used in classrooms as a literature circle book that could be used to discuss major themes, vocabulary, and character analysis. I love the story and fresh take on two classic tales that Holmes delivers, although this book will only resonate with students who enjoy twisted fairy tales.