The Monarch Who Needed Hands to Hold

About the Book

In the Land of the Handless, where people have adapted to live fully without hands, the one-handed monarch Michaelle must defend their kingdom against three monstrous threats: Anansi the spider who steals voices, Gickey the toad-drake whose fog numbs feet and legs, and Jasper the basilisk whose venom corrupts touch into fear and shatters trust. Drawing on the wisdom inherited from their parents—the One-Eyed King who sees truth and the One-Eared Queen who hears the heart—Michaelle leads their people through three distinct victories: defeating Anansi by communicating through ground-stomps that vibrations, overcoming Gickey by walking above his fog on stilts, and transforming Jasper through the slow, difficult work of rebuilding trust through human connection, ultimately touching the lonely basilisk with kindness and turning him into a living bridge. In the end, Michaelle unites the Handless with neighboring Sensory Realms, proving that no one is complete alone and that every missing piece becomes a bridge when people hold one another up.

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