Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

*A 2019 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book* 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.

Before I even get into this review.

CONTENT WARNING. DOMESTIC ABUSE. SEXUAL ASSAULT. ANIMAL ABUSE. GASLIGHTING.

For all that, though, I loved this book. The protagonist suffers through all of that and perseveres. But it's important to expect those things going into this book, because the central plot of the book is our protagonist being severely gaslit, with the rest of the abuse being in support of that. I agree with other Goodreads reviewers that it's surprising it's being marketed as a Young Adult book because these themes are VERY adult.

So. With those caveats, this book was outstanding. The book opens on Prince Emory riding his horse towards the castle of the dragon, intending to slay it and rescue his future wife, as his tradition in his kingdom. Emory seems to be your typical prince, accomplished, at ease with his sword, his horse, and himself, yet there is the occasional part of his inner narration that comes off...oddly. He enters the dragon's castle, defeats the dragon, and leaves with his prize, a damsel who can remember nothing about herself or her past. A blank slate. Perfect for a queen-to-be.

But as Ama, so named by Emory, learns more about her new kingdom and future husband, and what her place will be, she realizes this is not what she wants. The more Emory tries to convince her that it IS what she wants, the more we get into the abuse factor of the book.

It's very well done. It's a dark fairy tale, it's a consistent metaphor for - well, humanity's treatment of women, really. Sit down, shut up, look pretty, and birth the next generation. You are important because only you can do that, but don't let it give you uppity ideas. All that kind of patronizing misogyny.

I really loved this book, but it's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea, and the triggers might be too much for some of the people who WOULD otherwise like it. So know that going in.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

My first DNF book.
Men are bad, men are bad.
Yes, we know we are bad, that's why we started to shave our testi**es with Gillette!

When the king dies, his son must “slay” a dragon and save the damsel. Then he becomes king and marries the damsel. That's the tradition anyway.

This book is disturbing. The story itself was ok, but the many references to the prince's “yard” were crazy. I actually laughed at those parts although I don't think that was the intention. The women are just property or “vessels “. Like I said, disturbing. That stuff aside, it was ok.