A marionette, a weeping willow, and a house shade — there are more to them than what meets the eye. Written in a style reminiscent of classic European folktales, the three original fairy tale novellas in this collection explore a gay teen's coming-of-age in settings steeped in magic, wonder, romance, and infinite possibilities. Contains the stories:
Benedict: Benedict is a boy from a privileged household in the land of marionettes. When his best friend acts oddly and then birds insist that Benedict go to the king's palace to find the lost prince, he realizes that the answer to the mystery could be more personal than he'd first believed.
The Weeping Willow: A boy is cursed and turned into a weeping willow, and his salvation lies in an orphaned and homeless boy. Something deep and enduring will shape the curious friendship between them, one that will break a curse, end a dark cycle, and bring two lonely boys together.
Grave's End: It isn't business as usual for Maelwine when a new family moves into Grave's End House. Maelwine's forced to face difficult answers to unsettling questions about the nature of his existence. As a house shade, he doesn't have a heart, doesn't feel loneliness in the shadows of his world, until Royden Villar enters his life.