What? This started out so well – strong characters, great autumnal colour palette, the promise of a story about writers researching local urban legends... no. Those two strong characters are unconscious through the entire narrative, the local legend (if that's what it's meant to be) is nonsensical, and the whole story is about a 14 year-old girl's sexual awakening for some reason. What the what?

The Scarecrow Princess is a thrilling, young adult horror story about power, corruption, greed, and familial love. When Morrigan’s mom and brother move her into a quaint town occupied primarily by rich people with getaway homes outside of the city, she’s miserable. Both her mother and brother are authors who are investigating a local myth for their next book… But when it turns out that the myth is more real than they thought, it’s up to Morrigan to stop The King of the Crows and save the town from ruin.

I couldn’t stop reading this book once I began. Federico Rossi Edrighi’s story is incredibly well-written, and his artistic style matches the mood of the story perfectly. At first, I was put off by the sharp angles and harsh colors, but after a few pages I sank fully into the art. The King of Crows is a terrifying figure who never shows his face. The crows he controls cover panels with their sharp, black wings, and the stark monochromatic colors of his villainy are countered by Morrigan’s bright yellow hair and bright purple mantle.

In many ways, The Scarecrow Princess feels like a traditional Halloween tale. Morrigan makes friends with a local dog-sitter and attempts to be normal: shopping, talking about boys, going to the end of summer ball. She complains about her family and is more interested in being online than biking to libraries to research a little-known myth. She’s 14 years old and super bratty and, to be frank, pretty damn selfish. Somehow, these qualities make her the ideal vessel for the mantle of The Scarecrow Prince, the only power big enough to battle The King of the Crows.

Morrigan struggles under her newfound responsibility. The mantle makes her cruel and eventually reveals itself to be corrupt in its own way, even though its purpose is to eliminate the threat of The King of Crows. Because Morrigan is so different and so stubborn about it, she’s able to combat both forces, but the cost is great. No matter what choice she makes, someone suffers. And for a 14 year-old who doesn’t think her family really needs to be in the middle of nowhere researching this myth, that’s a lot to take on.

The Lion Forge, LLC edition of The Scarecrow Princess is translated to English from the original Italian. Unfortunately, that means some of the language is really clunky. It’s not usually noticeable, but it can be jarring in more emotional moments. The onomatopoeias are incredibly well-placed, and the different dialogue boxes keep everything very clear. The Kind of Crows’ dialogue is in dreamy, shapeless bubbles that make it seem like his voice is somehow larger than life. Morrigan’s speech is surrounded by jagged edges and points, whereas the other people she interacts with have regular speech bubbles. And Morrigan’s thoughts are in small, square boxes, which seem more grounded than any of the other text in the book. That makes sense, since she constantly tells herself to stay focused, calm, and sure as she fights her way through this unexpected war.

What I loved most about this book is the fact that, although Morrigan is an unexpected hero and in many ways occupies the “strong female protagonist” role, she’s flawed. And the ending to her story isn’t perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. It isn’t neat. Her selfishness is both a virtue and a vice, and she has a significant amount of growing up to do. She comes into The Scarecrow Princess as a bratty teenager and leaves it the same way, albeit with a significant, life-altering experience under her belt. She grows, but not unreasonably. And suddenly gaining powers to battle evil doesn’t make her perfect or wash away her worst traits.

For a horror story based in supernatural forces, Edrighi has managed to create an incredibly realistic tale.

The Verdict
Oh, you absolutely have to buy it! I mean it when I say that I couldn’t put this graphic novel down; I highly recommend it for any reader, and hope that Edrighi has more up his sleeve. I’ll be following his work closely after reading The Scarecrow Princess. This one is going to stick with me for a very long time.

Hmmm... this seems to have been the first graphic novel the creator wrote, and it kind of shows. You can't tell where it's set - it's an Italian book, but the heroine's family are writing a book about the legends of Albion, in particular the King of Crows. So guess who kidnaps them all and has it out for a regular ding-dong that happens every century. And guess how much is unresolved. Oh, and yes, the heroine masturbates at one point, which is really something to throw your appreciation of the book off-kilter. Not because you're going to loathe and lambast it - you're not a religious, prudish old stick are you?- but because it's just too weird, and out of place. Whereas each and every book such as this has a theme - fear of your mother being swapped, growing up, whatever - this doesn't succeed in having one beyond the heroine's neediness and jealousy of her family's time, which we get as soon as she first speaks. That and the poor artwork mean this is not really dreadful, but certainly cannot be recommended.

I spent some days thinking this review through because honestly I feel like there is some underlying message to the story that I am not understanding. What started as a story about a feisty 14 year old moving to a new location and finding something mystical instead turned into a tale about sexuality and sexual awakening/temptation. And while that is a worthwhile topic, it is in the 'how' the metaphor was delivered that felt gratuitous and even disconcerting in its abruptness.

Story: Morrigan is a bit forgotten in the family as they move to a new home - her mother and adult older brother are so wrapped up in researching local fables that they often oblivious to her. When a crow steals her hairclip, she is drawn into the world of the Crow King - and the one object that can defeat his wickedness, the scarecrow mantle. But in taking on the mantle, she begins to lose sight of herself and her humanity. And she knows she will eventually have to face an epic battle with her enemy the Crow King but without the knowledge of how to do so.

Morrigan's family is captured and Morrigan herself is captured by the Crow King fairly early in the story. She has a lengthy discussion with the Crow King (he's the King of Monologues as well, apparently) with him trying to convince her to not fight and instead enjoy his way of living. When she escapes, she runs home and masturbates. The panels are quite obvious, full page, and not graphic although there is no doubt what she is doing. But the 'why' this random and scary meeting led her to do that is never evidenced; it felt so random that I felt there had to be a reason somewhere for this to be so prominently depicted. Later, the Crow King would try to tempt her to join him again by suggesting she 'give in to her instinct like she does with her body every night" but again, I'm not sure what the author was trying to convey with this recurring masterbation topic? Add in the Crow King using an apple he's bitten out of as the teasing lure to which she almost succumbs and one has to wonder if the author is writing a story about puberty: the Crow King represents the longing to be an adult while the scarecrow mantle represents staying a child (with the costs of doing either?). I'm guessing here because I just don't get it.

I have to admit, I felt uncomfortable. Not because we have a 14 year old masturbating and running around naked at the end of the story. But because I could not find a reason for the graphic sexual nature of the story. It was jarring and the message was lost on me - the reason for it to be there and what the author was attempting to convey by putting it in there. I couldn't help but feel that having Morrigan be attracted to the Crow King (which was never shown to be the case) would have been just as effective to show that she was in the throes of puberty as having her reaching into her pants and with an orgasmic look on her face.

There were other issues that felt unresolved in the story - e.g., what Morrigan later found in the attic of her neighbor's house and its implication. Or even why she had such an unusual name. The brother and mother was also highly undeveloped and again, I was curious about the odd relationship of the older brother and mother (they felt more like husband and wife). The fairly tale type of story is fine - remove the sexual references and we have some interesting good and baddies that are not really good or evil. It's that ambiguity of nature that will likely bring references to Nail Gaiman's work.

Odd story aside, the art was interesting in a very angular way. It conveyed the story well and give a nice style. But in the end, I just didn't understand why the author wrote the story the way he did. I'm not a prude or have a problem with sex or nudity; I just did not see the raison d'etre for either in the story, especially considering the protagonist's age (14 isn't too old to masturbate but do they really know what they are doing like Morrigan did and is that the best way for the author to have told his story?). I can't put my finger on it but there was something very disturbing underlying this read. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Morrigan Moore is a 14-year-old girl in Somewhere, England. Her mother and brother are a pair of well-known YA authors who write about fairytales, dragging her along to places where they can hunker down for research and writing. No one asked her if she wanted to live this life, but she doesn’t have much choice.

The Scarecrow Princess has the same feel of Labyrinth, thanks to the main antagonist The King of Crows, but overall, it feels more like Coraline with the normal world blending with the supernatural elements. The Scarecrow Princess is a bit like a fairytale, but think more Brothers Grim on acid than standard Disney. Some of the imagery is legit disturbing. For all of these reasons, if I had read this when I was 12-16, I would’ve loved it.

Plot/Characters 7/10

As a character, Morrigan isn’t very likable at first. She scowls her way through her first several pages, complaining loudly and being biting and sarcastic about having to deal with her famous family. Granted, they give her reason to complain about being ignored.

Things change as the King of Crows enters the picture, holding her mother and brother hostage, and threatening to devastate the town. Once Morrigan’s mother and brother are taken out of the picture, her character begins to come to life. The moral decisions suddenly become very, very hard.
Does it matter if other people are hurt in the fight against the King of Crows? Is she willing to sacrifice herself to win? In the end, most of the development centers on Morrigan figuring out how she’s able to make decisions for herself.

The King of Crows as a character is a kind of foil for Morrigan. He’s greedy, selfish, cowardly, and manipulative, but he is wholly unrepentant for who he is. Morrigan is predominantly uncertain, but as events unfold, she is a tremendously brave and selfless heroine…. And that may be the problem. It’s hard to have a sense of self while being too selfless. Has she given up the opportunity to create her own role, while grumpily tagging along with her family? Additionally, while the King is slippery and will try anything to get his hooks into Morrigan, she’s less skilled at being dishonest about her motives. If this were a superhero comic, she’d never manage the dual identity thing.

I’m a little iffy on the minor characters. Her mother and brother are nice. Her friend is nice. There are some teenage boys who seem… nice… They just aren’t very fleshed out. It’s just Morrigan and the King of Crows, really. And while it isn’t necessary for Morrigan’s friends to play a huge role in the story, I think more character development would have improved the overall story and increased the stakes.

There are also more twists than I’d expected from the outset. I wasn’t completely blindsided, but it was more intense than I’d expected. That’s a plus.

Art 7/10

Mum: “For the illustrations, I’m already thinking of a synthetic and dirty stroke, without any pointless virtuosities.”
Edgar: “And make readers hate you?”

Amusing dialogue above lampshades the author/artist’s style.

The art in TSP has a rough style. It’s reminiscent of 80s comic books like The Sandman and 90s Adult Swim. So while it doesn’t look beautiful at first, it really accentuates the action as the story progresses.

The characters aren’t terribly detailed but they are easy to recognize. Especially Morrigan, of course, who has stick-like legs and long blonde hair that floofs around behind her a fluffy cloud. At the very least, this is NOT a case of a teenage girl being drawn like she’s actually in her early twenties. She is and looks like a kid.

In fact, as we move towards the fight scenes, the style sacrifices clarity a little, but it also elevates the aesthetic quality. There are some grim scenes, and as Morrigan gains more power, the scenes become more and more grandiose.


Narrative Themes:

Self-sufficiency/Self-actualization
Heroism/What it is/What it justifies
Identity in Contrast to One’s Family
(lightly) Friendship

I think the questions surrounding heroism and use of power are probably explored the most strongly, although there is a lot of discussion about taking a stand. We don’t see too much after the final showdown, so it’s hard to suss out what decisions Morrigan has made for herself.

TL;DR

This book is an enjoyable read with a pretty typical protagonist. Regardless, I enjoyed watching her strength grow, and the overall message to learn to be your own person, but that doesn’t require getting rid of everything else in your life.


I’d recommend for anyone who enjoyed Coraline and maybe the Courtney Crumrin books. Very fun, interesting internal conflict.


I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Review will be posted on my main blog October 16, 2017.

I almost scrolled past this book whilst looking for new reads - it was around 2 am, what can you do, but I doubled back for the name, judged by the cover, and loved the description. And the art, blimey, the art! Opening the book I was stuck staring for a good five minutes at the opening page, not believing how pretty it was. Was it a reference to post impressionism? Wheatfields with Crows, anyone?

It was thus, a little distraught to turn the page and immediately see the art style change, but I quickly got used to it, and especially loved the way the style treated the nature shots, and even more so, how it treated the birds. Whilst I am terrified of birds as it is, I love seeing them in art, and The Scarecrow Princess did not disappiont. The depictions of the crows, the colours, all of it really felt rather perfect for a good October read.

Whilst the MC's mother and brother come across as somewhat bland characters (even if I do enjoy their love for literature and research), I rather liked Morrigan Moore. Whilst she's not always the best person, she's definetly a good teenager, down to the last drop of spite and stubbornness. I would have loved to see more of Alma, but the absense is understandable, concidering Morrigan's growing tunnel vission. The King of Crows however, I really liked - despite his at times extreme creepyness towards Morrigan, who is after all a child of fourteen. And I do love an over the top dramatic antagonist reveal.

I found myself somewhat confused as to certain minor story additions, but overall I found the story more thrilling than expected.

Feathers Fly in This Battle of Good Versus Evil

This is the English translation of "La Principessa Spaventapasseri", which was written and drawn by Federico Rossi Edrighi and published originally in Italian in 2016. Despite its Roman origin the book feels almost Celtic in its autumnal conflict between the dark King of Crows figure and the heroine, who must wear the mantle of the Scarecrow Prince/Princess. In fact, the heroine here is named Morrigan, and that name is usually identified with Irish mythology, as well as Western European story sequences. (It may be intended as a joke or it may be unintended, but the goddess "Morrigan", as the guardian of Earth and its people, often appears as a Battle Crow.)

All of that said, the actual story follows a worn if honorable track. A young innocent is drawn into a myth come to life. Only passingly aware of the legend that has engulfed her, she finds herself playing a major role in the unfolding drama. She has to figure out what is going on, come to grips with the unreality of the situation, determine who can be trusted and relied upon, and then form a plan of action. We end with a final conflict, and then a few interesting aftershocks.

That whole story frame is fine, although like all such frames it doesn't bear close examination. To me the real question is whether the tale worked as a tale. As is often the case, the tween heroine was a bit mopey and moody for me, although the whinging trailed off as the story progressed. The underlying message about being true to who you really are and about finding the authentic hero within was fine by me. The writing was quite good, with a fair amount of clever dialogue and interesting monologuing by both the heroine and the King of Crows. The drawing is angular, with impressionistic backgrounds and action scenes, but it was always clear what was going on. There was nice balance between the color and clarity of the "everyday" scenes and the darkness and edginess of the conflict scenes, which added variety and kept the pace up.

A Word About Age Appropriateness: The heroine is fourteen, but I've read a few complaints about "adult" content. This book struck me as early YA, not middle grade, mostly because there is one scene that makes a veiled reference to masturbation when the King of Crows is taunting Morrigan about her secrets and guilts, and there are two or three small panels showing a distant view of a topless Morrigan after her protective mantel is shredded during the final battle and she emerges in her pure human form. Nothing terribly prurient there. Otherwise, this is basically a ripping old school mythic tale in modern dress, with a touch of tween snark.

The upshot for me was that this was an engaging, atmospheric, and entertaining reimagining of some old Earth magic themes, and an interesting celebration, in some ways, of girrrl power and the challenges of the transition to adulthood and independence. An ambitious effort and a nice find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

It didn't take me very long to realize this would not be a graphic novel for me. I didn't like the main characters pretty much from the start.. Also after seeing one of my friends reviews of this and the things that are in this graphic novel has put me off. So I am going to have to pass on this one.

After reading this graphic novel, I was thinking on what does the author, Federico Rossi Edrig, wants to convey or what lesson does he wants to impart to the readers. I was contemplating what message does he really wants to tell us because there's no precise one.

I have several guess such as maybe not to give our trust especially to those who we're not quite familiar with, because they might just use this to their own advantage. I even thought that perhaps not being judgmental, be content with what you have, and being open-minded could be the message this book wants to pass to us. There's no definite moral lesson that will leave its mark to the readers; so it's just up to our own interpretation on what it could be.

Moreover, there are some scenes that are not appropriate for middle grades and below, especially the part where Morrigan was having self-stimulating sexual gratification, and where she and the King of the Crows were both nude near the end of the story. On the other hand, the illustrations, may not that marvelous, are still satisfying to look into. Some parts are quite dragging, however the revelation in the climax part made up for that.

The Scarecrow Princess is a fantastic (in terms of fantasy) story about a teenage girl named Morrigan, finding her place in a new town where she accidentally stumbles into the age-old reoccurring war between the thievish King of Crows and the Scarecrow Prince. While at the beginning the roles are clearly distributed with the King the bad guy and the Prince the good one to defend the town's people, at the end both figures take a large step towards the gray zone.

Several coincidences lead to the girl, Morrigan Moore, getting the Scarecrow Prince's mantle - or, maybe, be chosen by it as its new bearer. Discovering the power she has with this mantle, she is set on defeating the King of Crows, who steals his way through town and even kidnapped her mother and brother. But the power she gains comes with a price - a high price Morrigan must decide whether she is willing to pay. At the end, Morrigan must not only fight the King of Crows, but also the ghost of the Scarecrow Prince.

Some reviewers criticized that several scenes of the story did not match with Morrigan only being fourteen, like wanting to drink alcohol at a party or "doing what your body asks of you". While honestly I quickly forgot the mention of Morrigan's age at the beginning of the book, I was surprised to confirm that she indeed is only fourteen. The whole book through I estimated her to be about sixteen, so I didn't have any problem with above mentioned scenes. On the other hand, you can't deny the fact that fourteen today certainly is an age where teenagers start dipping their feet into the adult world - like it or not. However, I doubt that any teenager who reads this graphic novel will go raiding their parents stash of alcohol right after.

Another scene the reviewer deemed inappropriate was when Morrigan shreds the mantle in fight, leaving her as well as the King of Crows naked. Here, I have to strongly disagree. IMHO, on one hand, the situation lacked any sexual tension, on the other, the illustrations were in no way indecent or exploitative, and the scene did match with the plot. After relying on the powers of the mantle too much, being almost consumed by it, Morrigan shreds the choking fabric from her body, freeing and revealing her pure self underneath. This was a very important step towards adulthood for Morrigan - discovering who she really is and that she can achieve something on her own. It's like finding her own place, no longer being defined by her family or just reacting to outer influences, but acting out of herself, by her own will.

As for the King of Crows, he is the villain from start to end, but then he never denies it and actually confirms that this is his nature. You might argue that his figure represents evil, or maybe temptation. In the end he is not truly defeated, but at least slightly impressed with Morrigan's own strength, which leads to a kind of fragile truce.

Writing this review was kind of a double-edged sword, but I stick with my thoughts as perceived right after reading the book and before being reminded that Morrigan is fourteen, not sixteen as I would have assumed, but then again, I do not see it as that big an issue as other readers.

A short word on the illustrations: I loved the overwhelming quality of the pictures, which perfectly match the overwhelming times Morrigan has to face in this story - both because of the fantastic war she gets involved in, but also - again - because of her age on the brink of reaching adulthood.

Note 1: I remember a time when there was no such thing as 'teen' fiction. There were children 's books and then there was fiction, period. Maybe we should have more trust in today's teenagers than assume they will be damaged by reading this book.

Note 2: I never proof-read my reviews, so maybe later I'm going to regret some of the things I wrote 'in the heat of the moment' - I might have leaned a bit on the rambling side with this one...but I just couldn't help myself. Sue me!

Note 3: I enjoyed this story, and despite every doubt whether or not it is appropriate, I do recommend it. Just find out for yourself.

This was the story of Morrigan Moore. She’s a typical teenager except that her mother and brother are writers who get inspiration for their stories from actual myths and move every time they write a new story. The new myth they want to be inspired by is the myth of the King of Crows… Except it turns out it is not just a myth and Morrigan has a role to play…

I thought this was fine, but no more. I read it very quickly and barely put it down. Overall the storyline was original and interesting but lots of minor plot things seemed very usual and cliché. I didn’t really like the main character and most of the time, I wanted to shake her… I wasn’t such a big fan of the designs either...
All in all, the was pretty enjoyable but sort of forgettable too.

This isn't a complete review, but when I skimmed what had already been posted, I couldn't not say something, and frankly, I'm baffled that no one else has already mentioned these things:

1. The heroine is a FOURTEEN-year-old girl.
2. We don't know how old the Bad Guy is, but he's been around for at least a century.
3. Bad Guy very inappropriately alludes to what heroine does in the privacy of her bedroom, then reassures the obviously mortified girl not to be ashamed of something so natural, she's just "doing what [her] body asks of [her]."
4. Heroine is later depicted in the nude, in the presence of Bad Guy-the-pervert.

How is this even remotely acceptable?

This was another winner from Net Galley's 'Read now' offerings, where you can find some real gems if you look carefully. This therefore is an advance review copy, for which I thank the publisher.

In this graphic novel, Morrigan Moore is dragged along to yet another new town, behind her older brother and mother, who are co-authors of a series of novels based on assorted local folk-tales and legends. They're about to start a new novel, and are here for research.

Morrigan isn't happy, but is trying to make the best of a bad job. As mom and bro start to investigate the local legend of the voracious and predatory 'King of Crows' and his foe, 'The Scarecrow Prince' Morrigan finds herself not researching the legend, but living it, as she gets the mantle of The Prince thrust upon her, and discovers that it's she who must stand and defy the King of Crows - and not in some fictional work, but for real.

Morrigan grows into her role and starts making her own rules as the story careers to its uncertain conclusion. I really enjoyed this graphic novel for the feistiness of its main character: a strong female to be sure, and for the originality of the story and the excellence of the artwork. It's well-worth reading and will give you something to crow about!

Both the artwork and the writing are by Federico Rossi Edrighi, which I find pretty impressive. The color scheme makes me happy. There’s a lot of purples and black. It definitely feels like autumn. Basically, what you see on the cover is what you get. I adore the Crow King’s appearance, and the whole thing feels a little grungey to me (in the cool sense). I have zero art expertise, so I don’t have much to add other than that I enjoyed the style. There’s just a few places where it didn’t work well. One of those places is the action scenes. There were a few panels where I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at, and although these weren’t important to the plot, it would have made for a more exciting read if the action were more distinguishable.

The Scarecrow Princess follows the story of Morrigan Moore, who is pretty much your stereotypical teenager. Although she does clearly learn some things, she doesn’t have the amount of characterization that I hoped for. Her mother and brother are well known writers, and she’s a little resentful/jealous of this because they spend so much more time writing than they do paying attention to her needs. This sounds a bit unique, but there’s already so many stories about teenagers whose families don’t understand them that the writer bit doesn’t add much. In fact, it might have taken away from the story. The book opens up with a bunch of self-deprecating writer/illustrator jokes that took me out of the story quite a bit.

That sounds all negative, but the book is actually really cute and pretty enjoyable. I would recommend it for children, teens, and adults alike; as long they’re looking for a fun read, not something to meditate on.
The story begins as Morrigan, her mom, and her brother are in the car on the way to their new residence. Her mom and brother both write fiction based on folk tales (which is awesome – I’d probably read their books), and they move around a lot to visit the places these stories are from and where they take place. This is rough for Morrigan because she’s always changing schools, losing friends, and having to make new ones.

Shortly after moving in, Morrigan makes friends with a girl her age named Alma. But it doesn’t take long until things get weird and she meets Widow Abbott, who insists that the Mantle has chosen Morrigan and she must become the Scarecrow Princess (with the power of an old button) and fight the King of the Crows (which is in fact the folk tale that her family is writing about). When she gets home, the King of the Crows confronts her, confirming Abbott’s stories. There’s something vaguely reminiscent of Labyrinth in all of this.

The rest of the plot ensues with some great surprises, but I won’t spoil them. There’s also some themey stuff going on that I either haven’t quite worked out or just don’t really agree with. Keywords: instincts, nature, rich, trash (literally), manmade. Which brings me to my final statement.

Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I still don’t see why the King of the Crows is a bad guy?

My rating is more like a 3.5 but I enjoyed this quick read. I liked the vibe of the story and really enjoyed the instances we got to see the Raven King. Black feathers are just amazing and the art style of them in this book was just glorious. The fact that the book was suppose to focus on Morrigan's mother and brother doing research on a local myth for a book they were writing would have been even more interesting to see and it makes me wonder if Morrigan will contribute any ideas to their story since she just went through all of this with the Raven King or if she'll keep it a secret. I didn't particularly enjoy the fact that the Widow didn't give her all of the information before turning her into this mantle. But overall, I did enjoy the story and the art was fantastic.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.
Ohh wow this was good! I had hoped this author had written more graphic novels but it seems not. I was immediately attracted to the story and characters. I easily could have read this in one sitting if I had had a need for sleep. I really liked Morrigan, expecually in the first 3rd of the book. Her sarcasm grabbed me right away. I will be keeping an eye out for more by rhis author in hopes of finding more published work.

I read this very quickly! I love the colour palette used and the artwork was really nice. Very evocative of the turn of the season from Summer to Autumn which feels appropriate at the moment. I found the storyline interesting but not sure about the nudity as it didn't seem to have any real purpose, felt a but gratuitous. Also the family members were undeveloped and it would have been good to set the scene more at the start, it all seemed to happen on her first day in town!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Looking for something for the Halloween? The Scarecrow Princess would be a perfect fit! Federico Rossi Edrig has created a teen horror graphic novel which has an excellent graphic style, perfectly suited to the harrowing story and the snappy main character.

Morrigan (according to Irish folklore: the phantom queen, can appear as a crow in a battle) Moore is forced to move to a new town with her mother and big brother, who are famous mystery writers working on their new novel on the myth of the King of the Crows. Myths don’t interest Morrigan, and she is completely pissed off by the move into nowhere. But alas, once there, things start to unravel fast. In no time at all, she is wrapped up in the old legend of the King of Crows and much more intimately than she’d ever hoped for.

The Scarecrow Princess is a fast-paced horror story dealing with the battle of powers between the King of Crows and the Scarecrow Princess. It has a nice twist to the plot, but also an infinite amount of battle scenes, which at least viewed from the digital version of the novel grew quickly tiresome.

That said, the drawing style is very coherent and expressive and works beautifully for this story. The colours take the reader to the Halloween mood with bright oranges, reds, browns and cool blues. Not to forget ominous black, which is very much present when the King of Crows comes into the picture.

Morrigan Moore is as the main character a somewhat stereotypical teenager, but her attitude leans more on the younger side, as her looks on the other hand would rather suit a 17 to 18 -year-old. I wonder if this is a question of the author not having researched the age group of his MC well enough or if this is a question of cultural differences?

I really wanted to love this graphic novel, but I just couldn't connect to the art. It's still a fun read, but just not the 5 star read I was hoping for.

This book was a quick read. The strife between the protagonist and her family definitely felt a little trope-y in the first portion and the initial dialogue was a little flat. The second half was much better, however, particularly in terms of the protagonist's growth. This would be a good read for middle schoolers/younger high schoolers who enjoy Labyrinth - there's a very similar feel.