Kelly Barnhill (The Mostly True Story of Jack) vaults an unlikely hero to success, and twists the foundation of classic fairy tales for humorous and haunting results.
Princess Violet is "ugly" by storybook standards, but she is adventurous, smart, curious and strong. She meets Demetrius, a boy her age who becomes her constant companion, when he saves her from a bull at pasture. Violet's father, the king of the Andulan Realms, is obsessed with finding the last dragon. As Violet and Demetrius explore tunnels in the castle, they discover a secret book. An image of a not-human being ("instead of hands and feet it had four sharp points") standing on a mound of dragon hearts leads them to believe that Cassian, the royal storyteller, has not told them this tale. It is Cassian who perpetuates the cliché that a princess must be beautiful, planting a seed of doubt in Violet.
In her pursuit of the meaning of the secret book, Violet discovers a 13th god, Nybbas, so evil that the other 12 gods removed his heart to render him powerless. The king's pursuit of the dragon takes him to the lands of the Mountain King, who wages war in retaliation. Fear spreads. Violet's quest to seek the truth, to keep Nybbas at bay, and to make the last dragon whole will keep readers turning pages. Iron Hearted Violet is a coming-of-age story, a mystery and an adventure about embracing one's strengths, regardless of how unorthodox they may appear to others. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness