Novella November: The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo

This novella is publicized as a companion story to Siege & Storm, the second book in The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo. I'm afraid to say though that the link between the story and the book isn't clear at all. The only thing I can see maybe is that this story is about avoiding traps, and that Alina was caught in one unaware in the latest installment.

This novella is actually a fable featuring a fox whose very life was threatened by his own mother right at birth. Already at a young age he had a clever mind and thanks to his wits, he convinced his mother not to eat his ugly scrawny self. He overcame many challenges growing up and his smarts allowed him to slowly become accepted amongst the other forest animals. When a terrible hunter came to his forest, he stepped up to save his friends, thinking he was the cleverest of them all.

The fable was kind of cute and it was a nice way to show how strength of character and cleverness can get you out of many difficult situation. I liked ever more that the very bottom of the story is to show that even if you overcome many obstacles, it doesn't mean that there aren't more on the way, and that you should always remain alert. The poor fox grew cocky and it almost cost him his hide.

A nice lesson is shared by author Leigh Bardugo, but because it is so far removed from the series, I would not really recommend it. It's an ok read, but I don't feel like it brings anything to the table. It's a free novella though, so feel free to check it out and judge for yourself!