SNAGGED

A cosplayer’s wig transports her to a fantasy world in this re-envisioning of an ’80s franchise.

When 16-year-old Leigh Carroll encounters a mysterious vendor during a comic con, she acquires the final piece she needs for her project: a multicolored pastel wig that’s perfect for her updated version of Lady Lovely Locks. The princess comes from a storybook that once belonged to Leigh’s mother, who vanished when Leigh was a baby. But when Leigh goes home and puts on the wig and costume, she finds herself in the book’s hair-themed fantasy world. There, she’s the new Lady Lovely Locks, with magical helper Pixietails who enable her to travel home. During an encounter with villain Ravenwaves in her tower, Leigh finds a painting of her own mother. She must balance learning about the fantasy world and her mother’s secrets with her real-world obligations and crumbling relationships, especially with her father and her best friend, Ari. The fast-moving, easy-to-read story combines very light romance with more adult financial concerns, and the mixture is sometimes heavy-handed in execution. Leigh’s geek cred rings true and her glib, quippy humor is genre-savvy. Occasionally the story grazes interesting themes, such as referencing fairy tales’ black-and-white morality, but there’s little in-depth exploration of these topics, and the conclusion offers few payoffs, leaving readers to wait for a sequel for answers. Racially ambiguous Leigh, who’s “tanned,” has a “pasty-white” father, and Ari is Black.

Lightweight cotton candy.