Goblin Market

Set in an unidentified region of what cues strongly as Poland, Zahler’s (Daughter of the White Rose) folklore-based fantasy is rooted in the bond between sisters Elzbieta, called Lizzie, and Minka, who are vastly different from, yet devoted to, one another. Synesthete Lizzie, extremely anxious among people, thrives on solitude, while merry Minka, a talented painter, flourishes selling the family’s bread and produce at the village market. Lizzie’s perceptions involve seeing sounds in color: leaves rustling in spring are silver, Minka’s voice is pink, and a thunderstorm is “a vortex” that makes her dizzy and nauseated. After Minka returns from the market infatuated with handsome fruit purveyor Emil and the delicious plum he gave her, Lizzie is suspicious. Her suspicions turn to fright when Minka succumbs to a delirious fever, and her golden hair turns gray and falls out. Meeting Emil and finding that no hue attends his voice, Lizzie is certain he is behind Minka’s strange illness. Fueled by love for her sibling, Lizzie becomes entangled in the world of zdusze, forest goblins of lore who entice and capture girls. As elements of horror build to an extended climax teeming with fiends, Lizzie’s evolution from “shy, strange and fearful” to strong and determined is believably wrought, even as Minka’s transformation is less credible. All characters read as white. Ages 10–14. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. (Aug.)