Breadcrumbs

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Now in paperback, the stunning and heartbreaking story of growing up wrapped in a modern-day fantasy, by acclaimed author Anne Ursu

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. They had been best friends since they were six, spending hot Minneapolis summers and cold Minneapolis winters together, dreaming of Hogwarts and Oz, superheroes and baseball. Now that they were eleven, it was weird for a boy and a girl to be best friends. But they couldn’t help it—Hazel and Jack fit, in that way you only read about in books. And they didn’t fit anywhere else.

And then, one day, Jack just stopped talking to Hazel. And while her mom tried to tell her that this sometimes happens to friends at this age, Hazel had read enough stories to know that it’s never that simple. And it turns out she was right. Jack’s heart had been frozen, and he was taken into the woods by a woman dressed in white to live in a palace made of ice. Now it’s up to Hazel to venture into the woods after him.

Recipient of four starred reviews and featured on countless best-of lists, Breadcrumbs is a stunningly original fairy tale of modern-day America. Inspired by the classic Hans Christian Andersen story “The Snow Queen,” Anne Ursu has given us in turn a remarkable middle grade fantasy, a dazzling ode to the power of fantasy, and a heartbreaking meditation on how growing up is as much a choice as it is something that happens to us.

About the Author

Anne Ursu is the author of the three middle grade books that comprise the Cronus Chronicles trilogy—The Shadow Thieves, The Siren Song, and The Immortal Fire—in addition to two beloved adult novels, Spilling Clarence and The Disapparation of James. Anne is also a professor of writing for children at Hamline University and a lifelong Minnesota Twins fan. She lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her son and three cats. You can visit her online at www.anneursu.com.