Fairytales for Wilde Girls

A beguiling crossover novel with a fantastical mix of imaginary and flesh-and-bone characters . . . Billed as a gothic fairytale, Near's debut is a dark concoction: a heady brew of Edgar Allan Poe, the brothers Grimm and Angela Carter.

Sun Herald

Near’s writing is clever and sharp, with just the right amount of reality and whimsy, blended with the dark fantasy of masters such as Gaiman and Angela Carter . . . It’s a cobbled path leading deep into a forest, where the reader is never quite sure what each stone will bring. This is a brilliant debut that will appeal to both adult and young-adult fantasy lovers.

Bec Kavanagh, Books+Publishing

Fairytales for Wilde Girls is a rare thing in the mass of YA fairytale books – completely unique and unpredictable, with a haunting beauty that will prey on your mind. Debut author Allyse Near balances whimsy and horror in a twisted fairytale that is grounded in a realistic modern day. Fans of Neil Gaiman and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will adore Near’s fantastical world, and those who love the Brothers Grimm will appreciate her own carefully constructed fairytales . . . Fairytales for Wilde Girls is a treasure of a novel. We just don’t recommend that you read it before bed.

Marama Whyte, www.hypable.com

Gothic, dark and compellingly strange . . . Readers who have enjoyed books by Margo Lanagan, Neil Gaiman, Angela Carter and Holly Black will revel in this original story.

Pat Pledger, www.readplus.com.au

If a thousand words can paint a glorious portrait, then even the whimsically talented illustrations of Courtney Brims cannot match the glory of Allyse Near's Fairytales For Wilde Girls . . . Allyse Near has pulled magic from thin air and weaved the most gloriously modern gothic fairytale that needs to be read to be believed.

www.buythebookreviews.blogspot.com.au

A fairytale for anti-pink girls . . . A thrilling, haunting, and puzzling tale that follows a cool and quirky Isola Wilde and her princes on a magical journey into a gothic world that’s closer than you would expect.

Erin, age 17, Random House Book Buddies

This multi award-winning book is an eclectic mix of gothic fairytale, contemporary teenage issues and genuinely spooky stuff. It only took two pages before I was deliciously disorientated and permanently hooked. I wasn’t just looking through Isola Wilde’s eyes, I was experiencing her world. What a wonderful world it was, both strange and familiar, meshing reality and fantasy in a believable way . . . A truly amazing debut novel.

Sandy Fussell, The Reading Stack