Synopses & Reviews
Every summer the trucks roll in, bringing the carnival and its infinite possibilities to town. This year Tessa and her younger sister, Lulu, are unchaperoned and want to be first in line to experience the rides, the food . . . and the boys. Except this summer, jealousy will invade their relationship for the first time, setting in motion a course of events that can only end in tragedy, putting everyone's love and friendship to the test. Alternating chapters of prose and comics are interwoven in The Year of the Beasts, an extraordinary novel from Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powel that will break your heart and crack it wide open at the same time.
Review
"A poignant and entertaining mixture of storytelling and nightmare." —VOYA "Sophisticated readers will eat this . . . right up." —Kirkus Reviews"This is a book teens will likely read and reread." —Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Alternating chapters of prose and comics (illustrated by Eisner Award-winning graphic novelist Nate Powell) are interwoven in Cecil Castelucci's extraordinary YA novel about jealousy and grief, and how they cut us off from the ones we love.
Every summer the trucks roll in, bringing the carnival and its infinite possibilities to town. This year Tessa and her younger sister Lulu are un-chaperoned and want to be first in line to experience the rides, the food . . . and the boys. Except this summer, jealousy will invade their relationship for the first time, setting in motion a course of events that can only end in tragedy, putting everyone's love and friendship to the test.
Castellucci's deft shifting between straight prose and graphic novel visualize how Tessa processes the events of the summer, seeing herself and her friends as freaks personified by characters from Greek mythology.
About the Author
Cecil Castellucci is the two-time MacDowell Colony fellow and award-winning author of five books for young adults, including Boy Proof, The Plain Janes, and Beige. This year she accepted a position as YA and childrens books editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books, a newly launched online magazine. Cecil Castellucci's books have been on the American Library Association's BBYA, Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and Great Graphic Novels for Teens lists as well as the NYPL Books for the Teen Age and the Amelia Bloomer list. Born in New York City, Cecil lives in Los Angeles.