The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle
by Shawn K. Stout
Do you believe in impossible things? Cutie Grackle does. She has to. Otherwise, she’ll never be more than a lonely 10 year old in a cursed family.
Cutie Grackle is used to being different—she lives alone on a mountain with her feeble-minded uncle, and when she’s not sucking pebbles to trick her stomach into feeling full, she’s chatting with a weathered garden gnome for company. But having a flock of ravens follow you is more than just different. Cutie worries the birds are connected to the curse Uncle Horace tends to mutter about. And she’s right.
The ravens present her with a fortune from a cookie, and when she touches it she’s pulled into a vision from her family’s past. It involves the curse and her long-lost mother. The birds offer up a series of objects, each imbued with memories that eventually reveal Cutie must do what her mother could not: break the curse.
Read an excerpt of the book!
“Told primarily through Cutie’s unsparing point of view (with occasional asides from the ravens) and fully at home in its Appalachian setting, the novel treats poverty, loss, and the magical with matter-of-fact acceptance. . . . An intriguing story from an author who deserves more acclaim.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Navigating sensitive topics like unequal food access, disabilities, and the loss of one’s parents, the approachable adventure novel The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle conveys empathy for both people and nature.”—Foreword Reviews
Find The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle this May at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble, and be sure to check out the rest of our brand-new books just out with Peachtree this Spring!