A Fierce and Subtle Poison
- Subject
- Magical Realism
- Age
- Teen
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Pages
- 288
- Publisher
- Algonquin Young Readers
- Size
- 13.7 cm × 20.8 cm
- ISBN
- 9781616206987
Legends collide with reality when a boy is swept into the magical, dangerous world of a girl filled with poison.
Everyone knows the legends about the cursed girl—Isabel, the one the señoras whisper about. They say she has green skin and grass for hair, and she feeds on the poisonous plants that fill her family’s lush Caribbean island garden. Some say she can grant wishes; some say her touch can kill. Seventeen-year-old Lucas spends summers with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico, and he’s grown up hearing the stories. When letters from the cursed girl mysteriously appear in his room the same day his girlfriend disappears, Lucas turns to Isabel for answers—and finds himself lured into her strange and enchanted world. But the more entangled Lucas becomes with Isabel, the less certain he is of escaping with his own life.
Samantha Mabry’s new book, Tigers, Not Daughters, is available now.
Everyone knows the legends about the cursed girl—Isabel, the one the señoras whisper about. They say she has green skin and grass for hair, and she feeds on the poisonous plants that fill her family’s lush Caribbean island garden. Some say she can grant wishes; some say her touch can kill. Seventeen-year-old Lucas spends summers with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico, and he’s grown up hearing the stories. When letters from the cursed girl mysteriously appear in his room the same day his girlfriend disappears, Lucas turns to Isabel for answers—and finds himself lured into her strange and enchanted world. But the more entangled Lucas becomes with Isabel, the less certain he is of escaping with his own life.
Samantha Mabry’s new book, Tigers, Not Daughters, is available now.
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What reviewers said
"This is a coming-of-age story set against the mystic and the tragic, and it will likely leave a mark on readers for days."
“With its sparklingly sinister blend of natural history and magic, of themes that seem both modern and timeless, A Fierce and Subtle Poison gets under the skin.”
“A breathtaking story in which myths come to frightening life and buried wishes might actually come true.”
“Samantha Mabry’s magical debut is both a chilling mystery and a heartbreaking meditation on love, longing and sacrifice...A Fierce and Subtle Poison will get into your blood.”
"Mabry cultivates a rich setting, offering lush descriptions of the island, its stories, and the sharp divide between the old world and the incoming new one, characterized by swift modernization and the careless destruction of history. Perfect for fans of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s atmospheric Marina.”
"[Mabry] steeps her debut novel in compelling Caribbean folklore and a lush, evocative setting... Fans of open-ended, atmospheric stories will enjoy the chilling suspense."
