Damsel

by Elana K. Arnold

Overview

*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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062742339
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/28/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	107,686
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	980L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Elana K. Arnold is the award-winning author of many books for children and teens, including the Sydney Taylor and National Jewish Book Award winner The Blood Years, the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and the Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat. She is a member of the faculty at Hamline University’s MFA in writing for children and young adults program and lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals. You can find her online at elanakarnold.com.

Editorial Reviews

This incisively written allegory rips into a familiar story and sets it aflame.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Arnold’s pitch-black fairy tale isn’t subtle, but this isn’t a tale that requires subtlety. For teens learning to transform sadness and fear into active, productive fury, it’s an essential allegory. Eat your heart out, Sleeping Beauty: this brutal, devastating, powerful novel won’t soon be forgotten.” — Booklist (starred review)

“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, author of Furyborn

“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, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories

“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, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation

“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, New York Times bestselling author of Spindle

“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, William C. Morris Award–winning author of The Serpent King

“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, bestselling author of The Princess Saves Herself In This One

“In this timely, riveting fantasy novel, Elana K. Arnold forges meaningful parallels between Ama’s plight and that of all women belittled, objectified and controlled by patriarchal culture.” — Chicago Tribune

“With haunting prose and lush descriptions, Arnold weaves a terrifying tale that explores contemporary conversations about rape culture, misogyny, male entitlement, female agency, and the need for consent. The message is as timely as it is vital.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

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

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

In this timely, riveting fantasy novel, Elana K. Arnold forges meaningful parallels between Ama’s plight and that of all women belittled, objectified and controlled by patriarchal culture.

Chicago Tribune

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

★ “Arnold’s pitch-black fairy tale isn’t subtle, but this isn’t a tale that requires subtlety. For teens learning to transform sadness and fear into active, productive fury, it’s an essential allegory. Eat your heart out, Sleeping Beauty: this brutal, devastating, powerful novel won’t soon be forgotten.

Booklist (starred review)

10/22/2018
This subversion of fairy tale tropes begins with familiar elements: a prince rescues a damsel from a dragon to make her his bride and prove his worth to become king, as happens with every generation in the kingdom of Harding (“I saved you,” he repeats). But the damsel, whom he names Ama, has no memory of her past, her family, or her time with the dragon. And the more time she spends around her husband-to-be, learning the ways of his culture and her intended role, the more uncomfortable she becomes. King Emory is cold, strict, sometimes violent, swift to exert his authority, and eager to have sex with Ama—whether she is interested or not. As Ama struggles to unlock her memories and find her own destiny, she discovers the dark side of the kingdom’s traditions. With haunting prose and lush descriptions, Arnold (What Girls Are Made Of) weaves a terrifying tale that explores contemporary conversations about rape culture, misogyny, male entitlement, female agency, and the need for consent. The message is as timely as it is vital, but frank discussions of self-harm, physical and emotional abuse, and descriptions of sexual violence may not be appropriate for readers at the younger end of the stated range. Ages 14–up. Agency: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

★ “Arnold’s pitch-black fairy tale isn’t subtle, but this isn’t a tale that requires subtlety. For teens learning to transform sadness and fear into active, productive fury, it’s an essential allegory. Eat your heart out, Sleeping Beauty: this brutal, devastating, powerful novel won’t soon be forgotten.

Booklist (starred review)

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

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

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 Barnell

In this timely, riveting fantasy novel, Elana K. Arnold forges meaningful parallels between Ama’s plight and that of all women belittled, objectified and controlled by patriarchal culture.

Chicago Tribune

★ 06/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—Somewhere in medieval Europe, deep in a gray land by the gray sea, at the top of a craggy tower, a prince conquers a dragon and rescues a damsel. He names the woman Ama and delivers her to his castle where he will be made king and they will be married—for in this land, no king can exist without his damsel. Ama remembers nothing about herself, the world, or her experiences from before her rescue except flashes of bright color and a luscious, soothing heat. Her prince, however, is happy to teach her how to be a woman, and soon Ama learns to carve away at herself to fit neatly into her prince's expectations. Art, exploration, and thinking are forbidden to her, and she is encouraged to take up as little space as possible. Inside, Ama rages and chafes against the physical and mental limitations imposed on her, and despite the warnings, Ama can't stop wondering about the mystery of the dragons and who she was before. Graphic violence, sexuality, and rape are present on the page, though carefully presented to create a crucial juxtaposition to the lyrical writing. The characters' roles, actions, and motivations are reflected through foils, revealing powerful symbolism and dramatic irony. All of this works to increase the tension, which comes to a dark but ultimately satisfying conclusion. VERDICT This incisively written allegory rips into a familiar story and sets it aflame. Highly recommended for high school libraries where literary feminist retellings are popular.—Leighanne Law, Scriber Lake High School, WA

School Library Journal

From the start, Elizabeth Knowelden’s haunting narration gives listeners a sense of unease as Ama—a prophesied damsel—wakes up in the arms of Prince Emory, who has rescued her from the dragon’s lair. What should be a happy ending is just the beginning of a quiet revolution. Knowelden’s voice is soft as air; her pitch ebbs and flows in a way that wonderfully mirrors the damsel’s hesitation to question her existence and her burst of bravery as she fights to find her own place—and truth—in Prince Emory’s kingdom. Knowelden expertly captures the swaggering confidence and duplicitous charm of Prince Emory. Her moderate pace allows listeners to absorb the rich symbolism and allegory in this twisted fairy tale. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

From the start, Elizabeth Knowelden’s haunting narration gives listeners a sense of unease as Ama—a prophesied damsel—wakes up in the arms of Prince Emory, who has rescued her from the dragon’s lair. What should be a happy ending is just the beginning of a quiet revolution. Knowelden’s voice is soft as air; her pitch ebbs and flows in a way that wonderfully mirrors the damsel’s hesitation to question her existence and her burst of bravery as she fights to find her own place—and truth—in Prince Emory’s kingdom. Knowelden expertly captures the swaggering confidence and duplicitous charm of Prince Emory. Her moderate pace allows listeners to absorb the rich symbolism and allegory in this twisted fairy tale. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

2018-06-24
Arnold (Bat and the Waiting Game, 2018, etc.) blends an abusive romance-novel relationship and intense feminist and patriarchal imagery with the classic storyline of a prince saving a damsel from the lair of a dragon.In a gray, medieval world, Prince Emory of Harding makes his way toward a dragon's lair to rescue a damsel and make her his bride, in the process bringing light to the land and glory upon himself. The damsel cannot recall who she is, and so Emory names her Ama. They return to Harding, where Prince Emory is crowned king, and his mother announces they will be wed in a few months' time, and Ama will give birth to his heir. Ama must learn how to be a queen and is reminded repeatedly that Emory's desires are what matters—she is never allowed to forget that he "saved" her. When she does not comply with his wishes, she is brutally and sadistically punished, sexually, psychologically, and physically. What if, instead of being the hero's beloved, you are your abuser's captive? The symbolism and imagery, as well as the meaning of the sexual violence that is perpetrated upon Ama, may go over the heads of less sophisticated readers. All characters are white.While Arnold has written a compelling flipped fairy tale and commentary on misogyny, she's missed the mark for her intended audience. (Fiction. 15-adult)

Kirkus Reviews