Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a 'semifamous' local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her-who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves-Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she 'like-likes' but who had pined for Ellis instead. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. Although many of the witches and Royals tend toward white, there are a few racially diverse characters.Īfter surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself. Sexual diversity features prominently, from a trans character from the last book taking on a larger role to the heartache of a gay boy in love with his straight, male best friend. Moving from Paris to London, the story highlights major landmarks that help ground readers in the setting.

Her transformation is the central theme of the story: Anouk feels “tired of living in a world where girls were so expendable.” The love triangle skews toward the boy who offers the more emotionally healthy choice, though he is prone toward saccharine declarations. Readers familiar with the first volume will enjoy this final leg of Anouk’s journey in which enemies become family and the powerless become powerful.

Despite her suspicions, Anouk bargains with him for a chance to rescue her friends, become a witch, and gain power. When Rennar, crown prince of the Shadow Royals, shows up at her door, a shoe missing and fear in his eyes, something is clearly wrong. Rennar’s crows surround Anouk’s home, where she is now trapped, her plans to study magic at an academy having stalled. The conclusion to Shepherd’s ( Grim Lovelies, 2018, etc.) duology begins six weeks after the siege of Montélimar. A girl struggles with what she is: not animal, not human, not witch.

Midnight beauties by megan shepherd