A Glamorous Parisian Setting Clashes with Evil as a Ballerina Sells Her Soul

Yikes, the dedication page alone is an attention grabber: “To Those Who Find Freedom in Becoming a Monster when Denied the Space To Be Human.” However, despite seeming like a prophecy for a horror novel along with the author’s note emphasizing that this is entertainment, there also is a subtle yet very human reminder about societies that hate, restrict opportunity, and flaunt privilege. The first-person narrator wants a big piece of that privilege because she is fed up with being overlooked. The tension builds rapidly in the opening pages with a leading ballerina with the last name of Moreau. Yes, THAT name, the same one as H.G. Wells’s vivisectionist character of Dr. Moreau. Does Parisian ballerina Josephine Moreau really drink blood? And steal hairs from classmates’ hairbrushes for casting spells? Does she really seduce board members? And is that what it’s going to take for narrator Laurence Mesny, she might be angry and frustrated enough to make a deal with the devil. YA readers are sure to enjoy the fast pace and realistic feelings of competition among young peers.