Damsel

Written by Elana K. Arnold

Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden

*A 2019 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book*

""Listeners will fall under the spell of the prose and narration and won't wake up until the last word is spoken—and maybe not even then. Highly recommended.""—Erin Entrada Kelly, 2018 Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author

A dark, twisted, unforgettable fairy tale from Elana K. Arnold, author of the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of

The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.

When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale.

As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062890238

Elana K. Arnold

Elana K. Arnold is the award-winning author of many books for children and teens, including the Sydney Taylor and National Jewish Book Award winner The Blood Years, the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and the Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat. She lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals. You can find her online at elanakarnold.com.

Reviews for Damsel

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First of all, this book has a fairy tale-like feel but I don't know which fairy tale -- and it isn't a Disney version of a fairy tale. Prince Emory has a goal. He needs to find and kill a dragon and rescue its damsel before he can become king. With his father dying before Emory being fully trained, he is rather on his own in his quest. His mother, the Queen, advises him that he has three weapons -- his brain, his sword, and another she doesn't name -- to help him in his quest. The descriptions of his climb to the dragon's castle and his fight with the dragon are vivid and and show a young man who is determined, self-centered, and certain that his way is the best way to do anything.The story then switches viewpoint and jumps in time to the rescued damsel who comes to consciousness in Emory's arms with no memory of how she got there or what happened before. Emory names her Ama and tells her that she's his destiny. When she briefly walks away to get a look at the world that she doesn't remember, she encounters a lynx pup and its mother. Emory kills the mother and is about to kill the baby when Ama begs for it. She names the pup Sorrow and takes it with her. But Emory tells her that it is a wild animal who can't live in captivity and which he will get rid of before their wedding. Ama is determined to find a way to keep her pet. She is put under the tutelage of Emory's friend who is the castle falconer who tries to teach her to break her pet's spirit in order to train it. Ama quickly sees that she is also being broken and trained to be Emory's wife. Meeting Emory's mother does nothing to change her opinion about her fate but, with no past, she doesn't seem to have any other options for her future.She becomes ill in the leadup to the wedding and the only thing that seems to help her is spending time in the heat near where the glassblower fashions his art and the eyes that decorate the city walls. Ama soon convinces him to let her work with glass and the work and heat help her to uncover secrets from her past and plan a course for her future.I enjoyed this story despite the fact that is was rather dark and grim, but because of the sexual issues and content, would recommend it for older young adults.

[Thea Karan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was an absolute banger! Easiest five stars I have given all year.

[Jackie Briere · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After ripping his heart from his chest she ought to have said: "Damsel?! fuck you I'm a dragon!" Wow, this was a fantastic fairytale re-telling

[katiewrites · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

So, I basically sat down and read this entire thing in one sitting. It was fine. I liked the premise, it was an interesting take, though I saw the twists from a mile away (to be fair, I’m not sure the author really wanted to hide the twists). I was really liking it save for a couple of moments that took me out of the story because it was going out of its way to hit me over the head with its message.

Still, it was an interesting YA Fantasy with characters I liked and cared about, and I was eager to see how deep they were or how they developed (and my answer is they weren’t as deep or developed as I had hoped, which was disappointing). I could tell what the author was going for; a YA fantasy that turns a fairy tale trope on its head by giving it a similar feel as The Handmaids Tale. And she accomplished that. I definitely felt that “I hate this but can’t stop reading because I’m rooting for the main character so hard” mood that I felt when watching The Handmaid’s Tale.

The reason I rate it two stars is actually because of the ending. Like I said, I saw the twist coming for a long way off, but what I didn’t guess was how that twist came to be in the first place, or what came after. Essentially, the last couple of pages threw me off because it ended the story with something that was shocking just for the sake of the shock. In the end, the characters didn’t develop and the gore was just for gore’s sake. I can understand why some readers would love that ending, especially if that’s the kind of thing they’ve been rooting for, but I personally felt that it was the easy way out.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I hated this book so much. Really should have put it down immediately instead of continuing to read but I wanted to give it at least a bit of a chance and then I was far enough along to want to finish it in order to review it and to see if I was right about the "twist" of it. I was, thought it was extremely obvious and honestly not that clever and was absolutely disgusted by the details about it given in the final scenes.

I sorta get what this book was trying to convey but this kind of story does not work for me at all. The lesson/moral/whatever of the book is ultimately a feminist one (technically) but you have to slog through so much misogyny and unpleasantness to get there I really dont see what the point is. Sometimes stories about this kind of thing can be cathartic in some way if the reader shares a similar trauma but there is almost no moments where I would see that happening. Partly because the protagonist is given so little personality that its hard to form a connection with her and partly because of her lack of agency from the beginning. There are no up and downs to feel with her because her situation starts awful and continues in its awfulness almost the entire book. All the bad things happening were very heavy handed as well which made the story both unpleasant to read and extremely annoying for its lack of nuance.

Content warnings for repeated sexual assault, harassment, and rape in this book as well as graphic animal death and abuse, and talk of self harm and suicide.

Quick edit: wanted to say this after reading some review from other people, my issue is not that I dont think people should write about these topics, its that I despise this way of writing about them.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

mature teen fiction/fantasy (women's oppression, twisted fairy tale).
This was good, but I spent basically the whole book waiting for the main character to transform back into a dragon already. It was infuriating to read how she and other women were being systematically and thoroughly oppressed and I just COULD. NOT. WAIT. Skewer that asshole, already!

That said, it was a compelling read and one that will stick in my mind for some time.

parental note: there was significant sexual content (mostly assault, lots of different kinds of assault).

[foggidawn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A prince rescues a damsel from a dragon and becomes king. It is tradition. It is his right. Ama wakes up after her rescue with no memories of her previous life. Prince Emory of Harding carries her home to his kingdom, where he will marry her on the solstice. As she learns more about herself and the people around her, she begins to wonder: is this really all there is for her?

There's no subtlety in this book. It's sheer feminist allegory, with every aspect of the book (plot, characters, dialogue, setting) there to serve the message. The plot twist at the end is clearly telegraphed from the beginning. My emotions when reading this alternated between anxiety and disgust. The writing is very intentional, so I'm pretty sure that the author achieved what she set out to do -- I just didn't enjoy the reading experience at all.

[tip44 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found myself with very mixed feelings about this book. It is very depressing in its portrayal of what it means to be female. At the same time it is not wrong per se. I almost stopped reading it, but I kept thinking about it repeatedly and had to keep reading if only to find out if there would be an emotional payoff at the end. The ending was quite abrupt, but DAMN was it satisfying.

[DaniParedes22 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Wow, the plot twist in this book is amazing.

I went from hating the book to loathing it a little, and to the point where I loved the freedom it achieved.

If I said more, I would spoil half the book, and if I don't recommend it because of the way they talk about the "damsels" and what they are subjected to, I like the final message it left me.

It ended up being a good book. (Translated from Spanish)

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow, what a blistering take on the age old tale of rescuing a damsel. This dark, thematic young adult book is really NC 17 - there is a lot of sexual abuse, self-harm, and harassment in this book - spoiler alert. The book opens with Prince Emory traveling to a far off land to slay a dragon and rescue a damsel. He must successfully bring a damsel back to his kingdom to be wed or he will never be king. For as far back as anyone can remember, the cycle has always remained the same; slay a dragon, rescue a damsel, wed her, impregnate her with one son, who will then turn around and repeat the process when it is his turn to be king. For Ama, this is all new. She has no memories before being rescued by Prince Emory; she has to take his word for everything and trust that he knows best. As she tries to adjust to her new place in the castle with her pet lynx; Ama realizes that she is unhappy, why shouldn't she get a say in her? She is constantly talked down to, bossed around, taken advantage of, and demeaned; Prince Emory doesn't seem so heroic anymore. Ama wishes she could just remember what life was like before he "rescued" her. Dark, twisted, and wonderful; the ending alone is worth reading this book for!

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

To become king of Harding, the prince must always slay a dragon and rescue a damsel. That’s how it’s been as long as anyone can remember: prince, damsel, then a queen who has one son, who becomes the next prince/king. Emory duly rescues Ama, who has no memory of the time before she was rescued. Emory is handsome and charming, but also sexist and frightening. Will Ama figure out a way to survive in Harding? The book is basically about the vicious lottery of patriarchy: it is true that there is a prize or two out there, if you are very lucky in both your endowments and your choices—but will you stay lucky forever, even if you are so now? I guess I see what Arnold was trying to do, but it seemed pretty heavy-handed—many men conflate the phallus (in the psychoanalytic sense) with the penis, but reading about it is still not fun. And Ama is structurally isolated from other women and not particularly interested in helping them.

[Lorena09 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Damisela is a reinterpretation of the classic story from yesteryear where a damsel is saved by a prince. (A repetitive and worn cliché)

Instead, we find ourselves with a dark tale written in wonderful prose that presents a damsel seemingly rescued from a dragon by a prince, as it is tradition for every prince of Harding to rescue a damsel to become King. However, our damsel remembers nothing of her past, neither her name nor how she ended up in the prince's arms.

From here, we are told how the protagonist tries to fit into her new environment; we see how she must listen and obey everything she is ordered without any right to express an opinion or even think for herself.

Repressed as she is, our Damsel, now named Ama, tries to take refuge in other things, and everything begins to turn much darker.

Honestly, I don't understand why so many people said this book was bad; I absolutely loved it. It's intriguing, and it's a book where misogynistic behaviors are clearly visible and it invites reflection. It's a fantasy novel that contributes a grain of sand to the advocacy for women's rights. A fabulous feminist fantasy. I am fascinated by how the author manages to twist the well-known tales and transform them into a more realistic and simultaneously darker story.

5/5? (Translated from Spanish)

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I bought at my son’s book fair. Previous to this book I also read "Red Hood" by Arnold and I actually liked that book better than this one.

Story (4/5): The story is very fairy tale like with a dark fantasy tone to it and a major twist at the end, that I unfortunately figured out very early in the story. I ended up liking it and read it pretty much in one sitting, it's not a very long book. I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't figured out the twist so early in the book. This book does focus on men taking advantage of women, so there is quite a bit of violence against women, just a warning.

The story involves a Prince named Emory who must defeat a dragon and return with a rescued damsel in order to take his place as King. The rescued damsel has no memory of her past and ends up forced into a strange situation.

Characters (3/5): I didn’t really like any of the characters in this book. Emory was a manipulative jerk. Ama was kind of a clean slate, she does grow over time and find some strength but she doesn’t really have a good starting point for reference. My favorite character was the lynx named Sorrow that Ama raises.

Setting (4/5): The majority of this book is set in Emory’s castle, it’s a very generic setting. The setting wasn’t really the point of the book.

Writing Style (4/5): This book won't be for everyone, Arnold does not shy away from describing uncomfortable things in excruciating detail. I should warn that in general this is a pretty depressing read, although the ending kind of makes up for it all. However, both Ama and her feline companion are subjected to cruelty throughout the whole story. There is very little happiness or light in this story. It is technically well written and was a quick and engaging read for me.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I did not like this as much as Red Hood, but I appreciate what the author was trying to do here. This story takes a well known fairy tale trope and spins it onto its head. It’s an interesting story but the depressing tone and vicious detail don’t really make it a pleasant read. I also found the big twist at the end to be predictable and I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if it wasn’t. Arnold does have a writing style that is uniquely her own and I enjoy the creative ideas that she comes up with and the fact that she doesn’t shy away from vicious truths.

[Jahi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was expecting a lot more from the book, and therefore, that was my biggest mistake as it did not meet my expectations, which is why I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

Damisela has a quite simple and pleasant writing style, with short chapters that make reading enjoyable. However, for me, the disappointment lies in not fully exploring the plot as I had hoped.

The concept is interesting beneath the cliché of "the damsel being rescued from a dragon," but I yearned to see how that would be turned on its head because it was INCREDIBLY frustrating how the characters made me feel.

On the other hand, if that ending had been surprising, I believe my rating would have been one star higher. Still, I liked it, and it was a good experience. (Translated from Spanish)

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For Prince Emory to become king, he must travel to a far land, defeat a dragon, rescue a damsel, and bring her back to his kingdom to be his queen. This is how generations of kings have become rulers in the kingdom of Harding. But when Emory rescues Ama, who doesn't remember anything at all before then, Ama begins to question her past, her role in the tradition, and Emory's true motivation for slaying the dragon.
The story is a clever one - I love a good rule-breaking, I-don't-want-to-be-a-princess princess - but the execution felt off. I'm generally not at all a prude about sex in books, but the encounters in this one seemed unnecessarily, um, something. Not graphic, really, but just, well, crude? Maybe just unnecessary. I will say that the author does a good job of making the reader really uncomfortable for the damsel, and she achieves this mostly through making Emory an absolute tool and in a very realistic way. I think the not-really-graphic-but-something's-off-about-it sex bits are a part of that, and they work in that way, sort of, but I think I still could have done without them. I'm fixating on this, aren't I? Apologies. One more thing that bothered me: the ending was too abrupt and oddly violent (oddly in the sense that the character who commits the troubling violence doesn't seem the type to do so at all right up until it happens, and so I was jarred out of the narrative because of it). I think the main issue, for me, was that Arnold is trying to go dark with this one, but approaches it in the wrong way, so instead of profound and intense, she ends up with troubling and ew.

[Lectora Nocturna · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It didn't seem so much to me. In some reviews, I read that it was a very raw book, that it was very intense and had hard and very explicit scenes. First of all, it took me a while to get into the story. Secondly, the only very detailed and somewhat unpleasant scene was how they skin a rabbit. I didn't like the characters at all; the protagonist's identity is known from the first minute. Moreover, I found the plot to be very strange, making me wonder what was going through the author's mind. The good thing is that it's entertaining and very easy to read. It says it's for those over 16, but I don't know; in my opinion, anyone can read it. (Translated from Spanish)

[billiebook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is not the Prince-rescues-Princess-from-Dragon book you expect, but it may very well be the book that you—or someone you know—needs.

Embrace your Sorrow.

Free your Fury.

Be the Dragon.

[karenvg3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have sat on this review all night because I really don’t know what to say other than that was weird. It obviously kept my attention because I finished it quickly but it’s not one of my favorites. Parts of it had me wondering. But that cover.... for that it gets 3?