A dark, feminist retelling of The Children of Lir by the author of the multi-award-winning Tangleweed and Brine
Included in Kirkus Reviews: Best Young Adult Books of the Year 2023




2024 USBBY Outstanding International Books

‘No-one else writes like Deirdre Sullivan. She is lyrical, poetic and thoroughly intoxicating.’ Juno Dawson, author of Wonderland
‘Unsettling, haunting, and darkly lyrical, Savage Her Reply is a beautiful thing.’ Louise O’Neill, author of After The Silence

A retelling of the favourite Irish fairytale The Children of Lir. Aífe marries Lir, a chieftain with four children by his previous wife. Jealous of his affection for his children, the witch Aífe turns them into swans for 900 years.



Retold through the voice of Aífe, Savage Her Reply is unsettling and dark, feminist and fierce, yet nuanced in its exploration of the guilt of a complex character.



A dark & witchy feminist retelling from the author of Tangleweed and Brine

Illustrated by: Karen Vaughan