Jamie Hammond, Usborne, (288p) ISBN: 9781835400951. Middle Grade, read 28/02/25, Paperback ★★★★☆

Grumpfort

A great fun adventure for 7 and above readers.

A forest full of monsters and a village under siege which has always needed Wardens to protect them.

Into this comes Mo (Monday the Fifteenth). Wardens are meant to be fearless, skilled in weapons, and unrelenting… Mo is none of these, he is timid, and bookish but really doesn’t want to disappoint the village and live up to the legacy of the Wardens.

To this end Mo hatches a cunning plan, he will go into The Forest (not allowed!!!) and capture a monster (ill advised) to bring back to the village so as to prove his worth.

A fun adventure about outsiders and acceptance, finding friends, and growing up and realising that what everyone else wants for you might not be what you want for yourself or even what’s best for you.

I received this from Usborne in exchange for an honest review.