Beguiled: A Novel

Cyla Panin's Beguiled is a dark and enthralling young adult novel about a young woman who makes a deal with a spirit to try and gain her independence—and the twisted price she has to pay for it. Ella is a 17-year-old weaver whose entire livelihood depends on her loom. She dreamed of opening her own shop, but when her father died in debtor's prison, she had to support herself by taking whatever clients she could get. In order to buy her supplies, she goes into debt of her own, and when her loom breaks, Ella realizes she needs more help than a repairperson can give her. She, like everyone, has heard about the old washerwoman spirit called the Bean-Nighe who will grant any one wish—for a price. But Ella is desperate, so she asks the Bean-Nighe to fix her loom. And it works. The loom is fixed, and she creates beautiful pieces she could have never imagined before. All she has to do is feed the loom a drop of blood each time she weaves—a small price to pay for such magnificent silks.