Echo North

Starred review from October 22, 2018
In this reimagining of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” a young woman ostracized for the facial scars she received from a wolf attack finds new purpose when she bargains with that same wolf to save her father. Echo Alkaev must spend one year with the wolf in his mysterious “house under the mountain,” whose myriad rooms, packed with wonders and terrors, shift at random and require constant maintenance lest they vanish. Following the tale’s tradition, Echo grows close to the wolf over the course of the year; less predictably, she finds friends, such as lovely princess Mokosh and the charming Hal, while delving into the stories contained within the library’s enchanted mirrors. But in her efforts to save the wolf from falling prey to the sorceress who cursed him, Echo discovers complicated depths to their shared history and the beast’s enchantment. Meyer (Beneath the Haunting Sea) refreshes the familiar framework with additional fairy tale elements—“Cupid and Psyche,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Tam Lin” among them—producing a compelling, satisfying romantic adventure with metafictional undertones. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary.