Availability:
Library | Call Number | Format | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Abington Public Library | CHE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Avon Public Library | YA FIC CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Braintree Thayer Public Library | CHE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Brockton Public Library | CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Canton Public Library | FIC CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Cohasset Paul Pratt Memorial Library | CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Hingham Public Library | CHE | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Holbrook Public Library | CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Marshfield Ventress Memorial Library | CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Milton Public Library | FIC CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Plymouth Public Library | CHE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Quincy North Quincy Branch | CHEE | BOOK - NO FINES FLOATING COLLECTION | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Quincy Thomas Crane Library | CHEE | BOOK - NO FINES FLOATING COLLECTION | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Randolph Turner Free Library | CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Rockland Memorial Library | CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Sandwich Public Library | YA CHE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Scituate Town Library | CHE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Sharon Public Library | CHEE, TRACI | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Stoughton Public Library | CHE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Walpole Public Library | YA CHEE T 2022 | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Weymouth Tufts Library | CHEE | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Longlisted for the National Book Award
From bestselling and award-winning author Traci Chee comes a fantasy perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli. When a girl who's never longed for adventure is hit with a curse that begins to transform her into a demon, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life, but along the way is forced to confront her true power within.
In the realm of Awara, where gods, monsters, and humans exist side by side, Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to a safe, if uneventful, existence as an innkeeper's daughter.
But when Miuko is cursed and begins to transform into a demon with a deadly touch, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and continuously thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outfox tricksters, escape demon hunters, and negotiate with feral gods if she wants to make it home again.
With her transformation comes power and freedom she never even dreamed of, and she'll have to decide if saving her soul is worth trying to cram herself back into an ordinary life that no longer fits her... and perhaps never did.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up--Grace Rolek, who was part of the audio cast for Chee's We Are Not Free, makes her solo debut with this rousing Japanese-inspired epic. In fictional Awara, where demons, spirits, magical beings, oh--and humans--all coexist, 17-year-old Miuko is deemed "average by every conceivable standard," except for being "uncommonly loud." Out when she shouldn't be, Miuko gets infected with evil "rot, spreading slowly." Before she's consumed by malevolence, she's got to find the exorcising cure. Chee's detailed worldbuilding is enhanced with footnotes and pronunciation guides, crucial to Rolek's effusive narration. Admirably unflagging through exploits and adventures, Rolek is particularly memorable as excitable, unpredictable Geiki, a trickster magpie Miuko once rescued who will return her kindness manyfold--albeit not without well-timed, hilarious snark. VERDICT With Rolek as aural sidekick, Chee triumphs again.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Inspired by Japanese mythology, National Book Award finalist Chee's lavish, swiftly paced quest narrative follows plain, clumsy, and "uncommonly loud" Otori Miuko, 17, who lives with her innkeeper single father as part of the serving class in a crumbling village in the realm of Awara, where mortals exist alongside spirits and demons. When a dusk encounter with a malevolence imparts a spreading curse with both visible and invisible consequences, Miuko embarks on a two-week journey across Awara to break the curse before it consumes her. An endearing trickster spirit named Geiki contributes banter, camaraderie, and invaluable assistance as Miuko encounters demon-possessed princes, learns of a spirits hierarchy and the follies of gods, and faces injustice and peril at the hands of men and demons alike. Footnotes providing pronunciation as well as in-world historical and folkloric context enrich the text, and interrogation and analysis of gender, cultural sexism, and patriarchy add layers of contemporary resonance. Intricate plotting; a vivid, multifaceted cast; and immersive worldbuilding provide plenty for readers to sink their teeth into in this triumphant fantasy. Ages 12--up. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary. (Mar.)
Booklist Review
Chee returns to her fantasy roots with a Japanese-inspired adventure featuring 17-year-old innkeeper's daughter Miuko. In Awara, magic and reality live side by side, interacting regularly. When Miuko was nine, her unconventional mother deserted the family, leaving her husband to raise their clumsy, plain, and outspoken daughter, but after a demon curses Miuko with a spell that has her slowly morphing into a demon herself, she loses even her loving father's support. Fortunately, she has the company and friendship of Geiki, a shape-shifting magpie she saved from a group of mischievous fox cubs, to help her traverse the country in search of a cure. Chee's world building is resplendent with detail: language, history, food, clothing, and culture are all interwoven into a fast-paced plot that incorporates plenty of archetypal Japanese cultural elements. Especially appealing to many readers will be Miuko's fierce feminism; she frequently and bitterly notes restrictions women face compared to men, battling these societal mores in addition to impending doom. Fantasy readers intrigued by Japanese culture will be enthralled.