Farfariel: The Book of Micù

• print galleys; digital galley available on Edelweiss
• Author and translator participation
• Excerpts

Battling illness, alienated by his peers, and potentially cursed by a local witch, ten-year-old Micù has a difficult life—but when the boy finds an unlikely ally in the mischievous imp named Farfariel, the two set out on a search for a magical book which might hold the key to changing Micù’s fortunes.

In a small Italian town on the brink of World War II, nothing seems to turn out well for Micù. If it wasn’t enough that he struggles with Polio, the young boy also endures constant nightmares, bullying from other children, and whispers from suspicious villagers who think he’s the target of an evil spell. All that young Micù wants is to go to school, but his father forbids it. Instead, he passes the time with his favorite uncle Tatà, who just returned from travels in America with stories galore.

But when Micù dreams about a mysterious book that everyone has imagined but no one else can remember when they wake, his life changes overnight. Now a cackling trickster named Farfariel is rewriting Micù’s story while he’s living it, and while we read it! Together with this opinionated little demon, Micù must confront his greatest fears, find the book that blurs fantasy and reality, and draw on a confidence he never knew he had.