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Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

Damsel

Elana K. Arnold

HarperCollins · Paperback · January 28, 2020

*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.

Dark YA FantasyFairy Tale Adaptations for TeensYA Mythical Creature Storiesfantasy
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Who it’s for
A stark, edgy fairy-tale retelling with plenty to argue over after the last page.
Genres
Fairy Tale Adaptations for Teens, Dark YA Fantasy, YA Mythical Creature Stories
Published
HarperCollins, January 28, 2020

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For younger readers: The Paper Bag Princess (classic Munsch), Dealing With Dragons

For older readers: A Sorceress Comes to Call

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About this book

*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.

Continue reading

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.

Dark Undertones

A stark, edgy fairy-tale retelling with plenty to argue over after the last page.

Come here for

  • dark fairy-tale edge
  • conversation-starting unease

Expect

  • medieval romance undertones
  • a sustained, unsettling read

Where it sits

Fairy Tale Adaptations for Teens84%
YA Mythical Creature Stories43%
Dark YA Fantasy37%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Fairy Tale Adaptations for Teens
  • Dark YA Fantasy
  • YA Horror
  • Literary YA
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Magical Realism for Teens
  • Paranormal YA Romance
  • Royalty Stories for Teens
  • YA Sci-Fi Romance
Authors
Elana K. Arnold
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
January 28, 2020
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
Fairy Tale Adaptations for Teens