Ava Reid (born 1996) is an American author of young adult fiction and adult fiction, best known for her New York Times bestselling young adult debut A Study in Drowning.
She attended Barnard College and has a degree in political science, in which she focused on religion and ethnonationalism.
Reid uses she/they . She is Jewish.
She was inspired to write the novel after reading an anecdote about Saint Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary, who had his nephew and heir apparent’s eyes stabbed because he didn't want pagans to inherit the throne. Reid describes The Wolf and the Woodsman as a story about exclusion. For this book, she was particularly inspired by Naomi Novik, Katherine Arden, Leigh Bardugo, and Catherynne Valente.
Reviews were mostly positive. It was a Summer/Fall 2021 Indies Introduce adult selection. Kirkus Reviews called it "Compelling, complicated, and worthwhile," while also noting an overreliance on purple prose as well as muddled action scenes. Publishers Weekly called it a "notable debut."
It was published in June 2021. Juniper and Thorn received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.
The novel has themes of abuse and trauma, as do all of Reid's novels, and she says it's a subject matter very important to her. In the main character Effy, she says she wrote about experiences that reflect her own. Reid says she considers being able to discuss one's own experiences in a narrative is powerful and considers that to be the central theme of the novel. It's inspired by Welsh mythology.
It debuted on the New York Times bestseller list on October 8, 2023, at #1. It received mixed reviews. Locus Magazine called it "intriguing, intelligent, and suspenseful" and it received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal.
It has also been criticized for capitalizing on "the dark academia trend" while not adding anything new to the conversation, and having no clear message, according to Michigan Daily. Kirkus Reviews called the Welsh-inspired setting "impressively atmospheric", while the mythology as "feeling extraneous."
Reid has said Lady Macbeth is her favorite character, due to her ambition and wiles, which inspired her to explore her character in a novel of her own. She calls the novel a work of "gothic, feminist fiction".
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