Grim Lovelies, written by Megan Shepherd, reviewed by Anneliese White

Summary: Full of magic, supernatural creatures, and adventure, “Grim Lovelies” is a fast-paced and exciting read that young adults will gravitate to and love. Anouk is a servant to witch Mada Vitorra, living in Paris, and treated very cruelly. She is one of five beasties, animals turned into witches’ minions by magic, and has never set foot outside of her house. First, one of her beastie siblings Luc disappears, then, she finds her mistress Mada Vitorra in her bedroom murdered, with another beastie brother Beau standing over her who claims he’s innocent. Fleeing together to avoid being wrongfully blamed for the murder, Anouk will go on an epic adventure involving goblins, other witches, royal monarchs, and more. Not only are they avoiding capture, but the beasties must find a trustworthy witch to cast a spell to keep them in their human forms before time runs out. Readers will encounter twists and turns, dark magic, romance, and excitement along the way, and will be captivated by this coming of age story.

Straight Talk for Librarians: It’s delightfully dark, features a variety of characters that all students will find someone to gravitate to, and has a riveting storyline. What’s not to like? “Grim Lovelies” also features a sideline gay character that is appreciated and a transgender character whose background is explained in a phenomenal way- with a child’s fairy tale. It gives great understanding to readers who may not be cognizant of what being transgendered means. This would be a highly popular book for teen readers, and they will most likely want to read the rest of Shepherd’s series (the second book came out in August 2019). It’s a great fantasy choice for library shelves and could be used for a discussion on social classes.