A fairy-tale retelling that’s both beautiful and brutal.
This new take on “Beauty and the Beast” puts teen girls at the forefront.
Marie Michaud sells homemade perfumes at the town market, saving up for a dowry for her younger sister, Ama. But select bottles are enhanced with honeysuckle and given only to Ama’s prey. Last year, Marie’s more beautiful sister was sold to the wealthy LaClaire family to work off the debts of the girls’ father. Fifteen-year-old Ama returned half-girl, half-beast, and now Marie helps her sister find and mark men who won’t be missed during Ama’s monthly transformation. But when a small boy is found dead in the square—younger and bearing completely different wounds than Ama’s usual prey—Marie seeks to both protect Ama from unjust punishment and others from her increasingly hungry sister. Marie offers her services to the remaining LaClaire family members—young Lucien, who suffers from consumption, and Lucien’s handsome older brother, Sebastian, who’s struggling to manage the townspeople’s gossip after his parents’ mysterious deaths during Ama’s tenure as a servant—in hopes of finding Madame LaClaire’s spell book and curing Ama once and for all. Though the story tends to get bogged down in details and backstory, Panin's debut features rich, complex teen characters, all fighting to be understood within the limits of their small, closed-minded town. Most characters in this fantasy French setting default to White; Sebastian and Lucien are mixed-race (their mother came from Martinique and is cued as Black).
A fairy-tale retelling that’s both beautiful and brutal. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-5265-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet if muddled tale of the magic of Appalachia.
A teenage witch goes up against the evil king of the mountain to save a cursed village.
Witch-in-training Verity Vox has spent a year apiece in different villages, helping in any way she can as she learns her art. When it’s time to move on, she receives a sign that shows her where to go next. When the latest sign appears in the form of a note begging for help that floats down on a leaf, she’s eager for the challenge. Verity winds up in Foxfire, a village in the Appalachian mountains that’s been magically cut off from the rest of the world for years, leaving its people close to starvation. The root of their suffering is a man they know as Earl, who lives in the hills and strikes deals with the townspeople that ultimately cause crops to wither, folks to disappear, and the only bridge out of the valley to crumble. Verity is determined to change the villagers’ fortunes, but to do so she’ll have to face off against not just Earl but the ancient power of the mountains itself. Loosely based on the Germanic Erlking legend and told in a voice reminiscent of folktales, the story features a queer romance and a cast that presents white. The convoluted magic system undercuts the strong themes of reciprocity, poverty, and privilege, but Appalachian readers will instantly recognize home.
A sweet if muddled tale of the magic of Appalachia. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9798890032706
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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