Once There Was
by Kiyash Monsef
Middle School, High School    Simon    416 pp.
4/23    9781665928502    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781665928526    $10.99

Marjan Dastani, the daughter of an Iranian immigrant father and an American-born mother (who died when Marjan was seven), has grown up in California with stories that begin “Yeki bood, yeki nabood,” or “Once was, once wasn’t.” Those stories “created a place that was real and not real, at the same time,” where the mythical could coexist with the everyday. After her father, a veterinarian, is murdered, fifteen-year-old Marjan finds herself tasked with taking over management of the vet clinic and her father’s crumbling finances. She is summoned to England on a mysterious mission, where she learns that her father was leading a double life: he also specialized in the healing of mythical creatures such as griffons, faeries, and gnomes. As Marjan tries to solve the mystery of who killed her father, she is pulled into a secret network in which these legendary beasts are brokered and sold. She must come face to face with who her father really was and with her own feelings of grief. With its blend of fantasy and mystery, the story slowly ratchets up the suspense. It also poses intriguing ethical questions about the conservation of endangered species and the devastating effects of human intervention on the natural world. A hard-to-put-down book with great appeal to fantasy and mythology fans.

Pubissue-From the May/June 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.