*A 2019 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book*
A dark, twisted, unforgettable fairy tale from Elana K. Arnold, author of the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of
The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.
When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale.
As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
A dark, twisted, unforgettable fairy tale from Elana K. Arnold, author of the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of
The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.
When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale.
As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Praise for this book
"Damsel is a lush, sweeping, gorgeous fantasy, tied up tight with an inexorable and winding dread. This is the best sort of novel—part journey, part discovery, abundant with beauty and truth and rage. It is sharp and quick and cuts like a blade. Keep your eyes open. Be ready." - Kelly Barnhill
"Brutal and unflinching, Damsel is a gorgeously twisted fairy tale that lures you in with pretty words and then shows you its thorns." - Justina Ireland
"A meditation on the smothering uselessness of weaponized kindness, Damsel will have you reaching for the narrative with scale and claw and tooth." - E K Johnston
"Exquisitely written and unflinchingly, furiously feminist, Damsel is a gorgeous inferno of a fairy tale and my new obsession. Searing and audacious, with an ending that will leave you howling at the moon. A must for every collection." - Claire Legrand
"Not unlike the original fairy tales, Damsel isn’t meant for the faint of heart. This unflinchingly feminist story is beautiful in its gruesomeness." - Amanda Lovelace
"Arnold is a master of writing the struggles of young women and the violence they endure. In Damsel, she gives us a suitably masterful, darkly gorgeous modern fairy tale of a young woman passing through fire to protect what is hers. You will not be able to look away." - Jeff Zentner
"Brutal and unflinching, Damsel is a gorgeously twisted fairy tale that lures you in with pretty words and then shows you its thorns." - Justina Ireland
"A meditation on the smothering uselessness of weaponized kindness, Damsel will have you reaching for the narrative with scale and claw and tooth." - E K Johnston
"Exquisitely written and unflinchingly, furiously feminist, Damsel is a gorgeous inferno of a fairy tale and my new obsession. Searing and audacious, with an ending that will leave you howling at the moon. A must for every collection." - Claire Legrand
"Not unlike the original fairy tales, Damsel isn’t meant for the faint of heart. This unflinchingly feminist story is beautiful in its gruesomeness." - Amanda Lovelace
"Arnold is a master of writing the struggles of young women and the violence they endure. In Damsel, she gives us a suitably masterful, darkly gorgeous modern fairy tale of a young woman passing through fire to protect what is hers. You will not be able to look away." - Jeff Zentner
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