Falling in love means becoming a monster.
Sarah has always been on the move. Her mother hates the cold, so every few months her parents pack their bags and drag her off after the sun. She's grown up lonely and longing for magic. She doesn't know that it's magic her parents are running from.
When Sarah's mother walks out on their family, all the strange old magic they have tried to hide from comes rising into their mundane world. Her father begins to change into something wild and beastly, but before his transformation is complete, he takes Sarah to her grandparents people she has never met, didn't even know were still alive.
Deep in the forest, in a crumbling ruin of a castle, Sarah begins to untangle the layers of curses affecting her family bloodlines, until she discovers that the curse has carried over to her, too. The day she falls in love for the first time, Sarah will transform into a beast . . . unless she can figure out a way to break the curse forever.
Loosely inspired by Beauty and the Beast, Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen is a haunting, beautiful fantasy tale.
A wild, unique fairy tale. Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Sarah is precocious, independent, and strong-willed, and the story brims with thought-provoking insights and lyrical descriptions for readers to sink into especially those who, like Sarah, dream of finding magic in the mundane. Publishers Weekly, starred review
Evokes half-remembered fairy tales and is slightly reminiscent of works by Neil Gaiman. Every page shimmers with magic. VOYA