Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Wolf for a Spell | 2020 | Karah Sutton | Buy |
| 2 | The Song of the Swan | 2023 | Karah Sutton | Buy |
Karah Sutton’s standalone novels are middle grade fantasy adventures rooted in folklore and fairy tales. Both books are illustrated by Pauliina Hannuniemi and published by Knopf Books for Young Readers.
A Wolf for a Spell (2020) draws on Russian fairy tales, following a young wolf named Zima who gets body-swapped with the witch Baba Yaga. When a village girl named Nadya arrives seeking the witch’s help, the two discover a shared enemy and must unite wolves, witches, and villagers to stop it. The novel was an Indie Next Top 10 pick and a Goodreads Choice Award nominee.
The Song of the Swan (2023) is a retelling of Swan Lake. Olga, a resourceful orphan, infiltrates a mysterious castle where an enchanter hosts nightly balls, only for the guests to vanish by morning, replaced by swans. Guided by cryptic clues from the palace spiders, Olga must unravel the dark magic behind the castle’s secrets. Sutton drew on her experience as a ballet dancer for this novel.