ORIGIN
Inspired by the author’s childhood and her magical son, this fantasy novel began as 2500-word short story competition entry to highlight the contributions neurodiverse people make to society.
As if fitting in with autism isn’t hard enough, Nicholas knows middle school is a jungle. And this year counts towards his future.
A kid’s personality decides what magical creature he’ll grow into, and there’s a hierarchy. Nicholas’s art teacher is a beloved Griffin. His principal a terrifying Goblin. Nicholas, whose brain floods with feelings faster than he can control them… Well, Nicholas is headed for Banshee, the lowest thing you can become, and he only has until age 25 to change the outcome.
Using the fact that drawings come to life, Nicholas draws himself a friend to practice on. But when his emotions boil over one time too many, and this real-world animation gets loose in a school full of children.
When the demon takes his favorite teacher – the one adult who sees Nicholas for who he is – powerful instead of broken, Nicholas must do the hardest thing his brain has ever asked of him. He must learn to control his emotions instead of being controlled by them. If he can’t, his teacher will be gone, the demon. will stay, and Nicholas will become the Banshee everyone predicted.
PAPER MONSTERS will appeal to fans of Nicki Pau Preto’s The Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents and H.E. Edgmon’s Defanged.gical catastrophe that forces the entire school to evacuate, Nicholas is sure he’s doomed to life as a monster. His favorite teacher is trapped inside the building with a demon, and the adults refuse to risk going back in.
If Nicholas wants to save his teacher and his future, he’ll have to do the impossible: master his magic, control his emotions, rally classmates who barely tolerate him, and turn the very traits that set him apart into the key that saves them all.
FEEDBACK
“The way you reimagine autism as a magic power is emotionally moving and compelling. The character of Nicholas is well drawn and the conflict he faces is clear. I could see this piece as a beloved children’s book.”
NYC Midnight Judge
The Magic of Yet (Now Paper Monsters)