January 23, 2023
This immersive, albeit uneven, tale by Flores (Shadow City), loosely based on “Rapunzel,” follows two questing friends turned enemies through a treacherous forest. Eighteen-year-old witch Ava lives in Arborren, a town bisected by an enormous bone wall erected to separate the human and witch denizens from the vampire residents. Ever since she was turned into a vampire two years ago, Ava’s parents have kept her prisoner in their towering attic, where she both longs for freedom and pines after her witch best friend Kaye, 18. Though Kaye misses her bond with Ava, she has also sworn vengeance against her, believing that Ava is responsible for her mother’s death. After Ava uncovers a society-shattering truth, escapes her tower, and flees into the forest surrounding Arborren in search of the vampire queen, Kaye pursues her. Though neither trusts the other, both girls must put aside their differences if they hope to make it through the woods alive. Though overwrought expository prose and modest worldbuilding dampen an intriguing premise, Ava and Kaye’s gentle romance, which believably unfolds amid their mutual distrust, invests readers in their plight. Characters read as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park & Fine Literary.