The Ogress and the Orphans
#874.28 adjusted 4.25 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2022 Reading commitment Low Kelly Barnhill Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
Kelly Barnhill published The Ogress and the Orphans in 2022, after expanding a fairy tale she had written privately. It is a standalone fantasy set in the invented town of Stone-in-the-Glen, which has dragons, crows and an Ogress. After the town library burns down and a child goes missing from the Orphan House, the Mayor blames the Ogress, and the orphans try to prove her innocent. It is a single book with no sequels. It is not set in the world of the author's earlier novel The Girl Who Drank the Moon.
Cozy fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Ogress and the Orphans Kelly Barnhill
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Ogress and the Orphans | 2022 | 1 | core | 4.28 (9,840 ratings) |
A standalone fantasy about orphans defending an Ogress accused by a town's Mayor.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Ogress and the Orphans? The Ogress and the Orphans's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Ogress and the Orphans finished? Complete (2022).
- How much reading does The Ogress and the Orphans take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The Ogress and the Orphans ranked? #87 in this site's official ranking, based on 9,840 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #87?
Ranked #87 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.28 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (9,840 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #86, Good Omens (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 1 book · Complete · 10k ratings · Ranks #87 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment cozy fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Young People's Literature), 2022: finalist: The Ogress and the Orphans
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- The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest Mythic fantasy / Cozy fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.40
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- Das kleine Gespenst (The Little Ghost) Cozy fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.22
- The Little Grey Men Cozy fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.15
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.28 across 9,840 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 31 universes; 3 candidates ruled out; open items closed accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: The Ogress and the Orphans Tier 2
- Hachette Book Group Tier 2
- SuperSummary book brief Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = The Ogress and the Orphans (2022).