I love everything about this. It captures the book perfectly, hinting at the considerable darkness of the story, while showing just how genuinely lovely a mermaid could be to a man—how he and she both might be fooled into risking everything for each other. I especially love the way it almost looks like a painting, and that it suggests historical fiction; I appreciate the fact that an adult reader or a boy reader might be willing to carry this book on a subway or to school; I adore Franny Billingsley's prominent blurb. In fact, it's difficult to convey to you just how happy the whole package makes me feel, other than to say that I find it so compelling it makes me want to read my own book.My sincerest thanks to everyone at MacKids, to Joy Peskin, and to Anne Diebel, the designer. And to Sara, for being such a champion of Monstrous Beauty at every stage.
(Fun trivia: the background of the Monstrous Beauty font is an image of seaweed.)
