Creeping Beauty

In this ambitious “Sleeping Beauty” retelling by Portes (This Is Not a Ghost Story), a princess falls into an enchanted sleep only to wake up in an alternate dimension. White-cued Princess Bitsy, 17, has perfected the art of creeping away from boring formal functions. After meeting her betrothed, whom she describes as a “well-tempered mushroom... a very large, nervous, sweaty one,” she escapes into the depths of the castle, where she discovers a spindle. Pricking her finger sends her into a deep slumber—until she awakens stranded in a dangerous new reality in which one’s looks determines their status (“Being ugly and poor... go hand in hand,” a resident confirms), and the realm’s impoverished citizens must mine a substance that enables its imbibers to remain artificially beautiful. Following a series of dreamlike events that force Bitsy to quickly adapt to the cutthroat world, she must challenge the realm’s mysterious, tyrannical ruler if she hopes to survive and return home. Portes undermines the overarching theme of a heroine who rescues herself with late revelations and reframes, and interrogations of valuing physical appearance prove intriguing but underexplored. Ages 13–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Aug.)