Hunted

January 9, 2017
In this standalone tale from Spooner, coauthor of the Starbound trilogy, a merchant named Tvertko loses his fortune and moves his daughters—Lena, Asenka, and Yeva—to a remote cabin. Once a legendary hunter, Tvertko has difficulty finding prey and comes to believe that a fearsome Beast is scaring off the other animals. Tvertko ventures into the woods to slay the creature but fails to return. Yeva strikes out after him and is captured by the Beast, who imprisons her in a castle. As Yeva fights for survival and escape, she learns that the fairy tales of her youth are more grounded in reality than she ever imagined. After a slow start, Spooner’s take on Beauty and the Beast finds its groove when Yeva (also known as Beauty) finally encounters the Beast. Yeva’s narration is interspersed with snippets from the Beast’s perspective, adding depth, and while the plot is largely predictable, this emotionally complex story satisfies. Spooner writes eloquently about magic, her world building is excellent, and the book’s characters are nuanced and well drawn. Ages 13–up. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary.

Based on Russian folklore, Spooner's magical fantasy introduces Yeva, who is called Beauty. While hunting in the woods, she encounters the Beast. Saskia Maarleveld takes on the majority of the narration, telling the story through Yeva's eyes. She compellingly depicts Yeva's bravery and resilience and then switches to Yeva's sisters and the Beast, portraying them with subtle variations in tone and cadence. Her gruesome descriptions of the hunt and the cold are spine-tingling. In interspersed chapters, narrator Will Damron's Beast fittingly growls and moans as he reveals his thoughts and fights to reclaim his humanity. While Maarleveld's scene changes are not always smooth, overall, the narrators complement each other and draw listeners into the story. S.H. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Starred review from December 1, 2016
A rich, Russian-influenced retelling of "Beauty and the Beast."Bored by her comfortable life in town, Yeva (Beauty) longs for the woods. But when her merchant father loses their fortune and retreats to the wilderness with Yeva and her older sisters, Lena (Light) and Asenka (Grace), Yeva must remember her woodcraft in order to protect her family. Preferring solitude to her persistent suitor, Solmir, and a brewing love triangle--Asenka is drawn to Solmir--Yeva hunts, first for game, then for the Beast. Blaming the Beast for her father's absence, Yeva becomes his captive, then his would-be assassin--trained to kill for him but also hoping to kill him--yet struggles to reconcile his violence and humanity. Building upon a familiar tale, Spooner creates a detailed world populated by complex characters, with medieval household mundanities and retellings of Russian folk tales anchoring the later fantastic elements. No Disney heroine, white, red-haired Yeva is also--appreciably--not an instantly lethal, superpowered heroine, although she is single-mindedly bent first on survival, then on revenge. Love blooms slowly, but this is an old-fashioned romance reminiscent of Robin McKinley's and Patricia McKillip's novels, concerned with the power of stories. An elegant, classic, and vivid fairy tale. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

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