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Dark and Deepest Red

Anna-Marie McLemore

Ages 14–18

Readers rate it 3.4 (14 on Hardcover)

251 pages · Released Jan 14, 2020

Content report card

Dark and Deepest Red parent’s guide: what’s inside

High confidence

Substance use

What it offers

Educational value

A note for parents

Dark and Deepest Red is a beautifully written dual-timeline fantasy exploring identity, family legacy, and queer love amid magical peril. The historical storyline involves accusations of witchcraft and the real 1518 dancing plague, creating atmospheric tension and some scary moments, while the contemporary thread centers on a girl cursed by enchanted shoes. The book contains mild profanity, some romantic intensity between same-sex characters, and themes of trauma and betrayal that resonate deeply but aren't graphically depicted. Best suited for mature teens comfortable with darker fairy-tale retellings and reflective, character-driven narratives.

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From the publisher

With Anna-Marie McLemore's signature lush prose, Dark and Deepest Red pairs the forbidding magic of a fairy tale with a modern story of passion and betrayal. Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion... With Anna-Marie McLemore's signature lush prose, Dark and Deepest Red pairs the forbidding magic of a fairy tale with a modern story of passion and betrayal. Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva's feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever's history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there's more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.

Shelved under

  • Young Adult Fiction
  • A mix driven
  • Strong Character Development
  • Unloveable Characters
  • Diverse Characters
  • reflective
  • sad
  • tense
  • Fantasy
  • Young Adult
  • LGBTQ
  • Young adult fiction, fantasy, contemporary

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ISBN 9781250162731 · Macmillan + ORM

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