The Swan’s Daughter: A Possibly Doomed Love Story

Gr 8 Up–A fairy tale full of wit and whimsy. Demelza is the ugly duckling in her wizard father’s flock of so-called veritas swan daughters, but she’s valuable to him in other ways—for example, as a sacrifice to achieve immortality. Horrified, Demelza escapes to the one kingdom he’s forbidden from entering, the Isle of Malys, using a stray invitation to Prince Arris’s betrothal tournament. A badly worded magical boon means even generations later the isle can only be ruled by “male descendants or whomever possesses their hand and heart in marriage,” and several women are at the tournament prepared to take the latter literally. Arris hopes to use the contest to find true love but knows most will be lying to win the crown. He forms an alliance with Demelza, whose horrible singing can wring a truthful answer to any question, to find a bride who is not plotting his death. But Demelza must be careful; falling in love as a veritas swan could be the death of her. At turns vicious and wistful, the story runs both funny and dark. Chokshi’s fairy-tale writing style walks the tightrope between eccentric and florid, creating relationships and a romance grounded in values like respect, trust, and friendship. Short chapters and shifting points of view help keep the tension climbing. Demelza has red hair and pearl-sheen skin, and other contestants are fantasy races.