MEESH THE BAD DEMON

The odd girl, or rather demon, out forms an unlikely group of friends who band together to save her community and celebrate each other’s differences.

At Mount Magma Middle School, students attend classes at night where they practice breathing fire and molding lava. How could they not? Mount Magma is a community of demons! But young Meesh, who lives with her hardworking grandmother, would rather be a fairy and enjoy all things pretty and bright like her TV hero, Princess Nouna. She is teased and bullied at school for her preferences, but school takes a back seat to survival when a disaster turns everyone but her to stone. Meesh’s journey takes her to Plumeria City, the floating land of fairies, in search of help. There, she not only meets Princess Nouna, but sees how fairy reality compares to her idealized version. Among magical MacGuffins and fantasy realms, central themes around friendship and understanding take shape. Cute manga-style faces and enthusiastically clumsy flight sequences endear the cast to readers gradually and organically. As this is the first book in a planned series, not every character has a full arc, but readers will look forward to revisiting Meesh and her friends. Meesh is light-skinned with glossy black hair; the other cast members have diverse skin tones.

Watching children overcome ingrained prejudices is as magical as any winged or fire-breathing creature.