Deerskin is a fairytale princess, the daughter of the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms who married a great king and whose love was so legendary it eclipsed everything, including her own existence.
Admired and loved the king and queen were, but their story was so powerful no one else, including themselves, had much time or attention to spare for Deerskin. Then the queen becomes deathly ill and the king goes mad without her. People start to notice Deerskin a little more, including her father. The mad king declares that to strengthen his kingdom he will remarry the only woman who can compare to the dead queen, his own teenage daughter.
After a terrible night that proves he won’t be denied, Deerskin and her loyal dog Ash flee, wondering what kind of life a fairy princess raised both indulgently and neglectfully can have in the normal world.
But like all fairy princesses Deerskin has a fairy godmother who is more about enabling survival than happily ever after.
Deerskin is a dark high fantasy novel retelling of Donkeyskin. Similar to Cinderella, with all the horror of the Grimm tale. Deerskin is a dark, but beautiful read.
Highly recommended and no doubt with the popularity of books from vampire tales to stories like Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson Deerskin has a strong audience in teens too.
Contains: violence, incest, rape