The First Book of Calamity Leek

March 15, 2016
It begins with the seeming death of a girl called Truly, who may actually still be alive. The reader doesn't know, for the truth is opaque in this enigmatic novel. Its narrator is 14-year-old Calamity; from her, readers gradually begin to learn a few things about her environment. She and 15 other girls live in a walled garden, shut off from the Outside. Brought to their sanctuary by a seeming demigoddess called Mother, they are being prepared to go to war against the Demonmales who live outside the wall, provided, that is, the girls can elude the dangerous Injuns who surround their enclosure. Called the Goddess Daughter's Army, they are supervised by Aunty, a badly disfigured former actress. The girls' world is stable until one of their number manages to get Outside, and then nothing in the Garden remains the same. First published in the UK, this richly imagined novel tests readers' patience with its obscure beginnings but rewards them with the idiosyncratic voice and character of Calamity. Fans of the offbeat will dote on this sui generis story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)