Raising the Horseman

by Serena Valentino

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Get ready for this stand-alone modern reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This supernatural story is full of twists and turns that interweaves the past and present through the presence of a journal, and the stakes couldn’t be higher with a two-hundred-year-old secret, its repercussions on a teen girl, and the need to protect what one truly loves.

From the New York Times best-selling author of Disney’s Villains series comes a ghostly new stand-alone novel that reimagines The Legend of Sleepy Hollow through the eyes of a modern teen.

The two-hundredth anniversary of the Headless Horseman's legendary haunting of Sleepy Hollow is approaching, but Kat van Tassel wants nothing to do with the town's superstitious celebrations. As a descendant of the original Katrina van Tassel, Kat knows she’s expected to fulfill her ancestor’s legacy by someday marrying her longtime boyfriend and running the prestigious family estate. But Kat dreams of a life outside Sleepy Hollow.

Then Kat meets Isadora, a new girl in town who challenges Kat to reexamine those expectations, opens her eyes to the possibility that ghosts are real, and makes her question who she truly wants to be . . . and be with.

When Kat is given the original Katrina’s diary, a new legend begins to take shape, one that weaves together the past and the present in eerie ways. Can Kat uncover a two-hundred-year-old secret, and trace its shocking reverberations in her own life, in time to protect what she truly loves?

Fans of Serena Valentino will delight in this supernatural coming-of-age tale that finally gives the women of Sleepy Hollow a chance to tell their side of the story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368076609
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2023
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	185,943
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Serena Valentino has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past decade. She has earned critical acclaim in both the comic and horror domains, where she is known for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty, and extraordinary protagonists. The books in her best-selling Villains series are best enjoyed when read in the following order: Fairest of All, The Beast Within, Poor Unfortunate Soul, Mistress of All Evil, Mother Knows Best, Odd Sisters, Evil Thing, Cold Hearted, and Never Never. She is also the author of the Villains graphic novels Evil Thing and Fairest of All, and the standalone novel Raising the Horseman.

Editorial Reviews

A sweet retelling of a spooky classic.
—Kirkus Reviews



Spinning the story of the Headless Horseman from the perspective of Ichabod Crane’s love interest with a twist of feminism and LGBTQIA+ positivity, Valentino retells one of the most ubiquitous cautionary tales of gothic horror, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with authenticity and ingenuity . . . . Recommended for a mildly macabre Halloween-themed read for younger teens who enjoy Marissa Meyer and Jane Yolen, and a good addition where fractured fairy tales and gothic horror are popular.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2022

Gr 6 Up—Spinning the story of the Headless Horseman from the perspective of Ichabod Crane's love interest with a twist of feminism and LGBTQIA+ positivity, Valentino retells one of the most ubiquitous cautionary tales of gothic horror, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with authenticity and ingenuity. Eighteen-year-old Kat longs to attend a distant college but is bound to inherit Katrina Van Tassel's legacy when she marries and accepts the mantle of matriarch as the "reigning Katrina." Tethered by tradition and superstition, Kat's feelings for childhood crush and assumed fiancé, Blake, sour in the face of her blossoming autonomy and skepticism toward the town's morbid obsession with the Headless Horseman. On the 200th anniversary of Katrina's demise, Kat is nowhere to be found; her absence does not go unnoticed, nor does her budding romance with newcomer Isadora Crow, who harbors secrets about the town's mythology and her place in it. Fleeing the entrapment of a loveless marriage, Kat seeks more than friendship with Isadora, but when lies are revealed, her trust waivers; Blake further complicates matters. The townspeople's blind acceptance of the supernatural Katrina lineage is inexplicable, but authentic dialogue and animated storytelling render the parallel story of Kat and Katrina an apt retelling of Irving's classic morality tale, weaving past and present to mirror the original themes of greed, folly, and the threat of superstition trumping reason. VERDICT Recommended for a mildly macabre Halloween-themed read for younger teens who enjoy Marissa Meyer and Jane Yolen, and a good addition where fractured fairy tales and gothic horror are popular.—Rebecca Jung

School Library Journal

2022-07-13
There are more charms than terrors in this reimagining of a supernatural tale.

Valentino’s eye for lavish detail focuses on Kat Van Tassel, an 18-year-old at Ichabod Crane High, named after Sleepy Hollow’s most infamous figure. Trapped in a life that feels all too planned out and a skeptic surrounded by those who believe in ghosts, Kat chafes at the way she’s fated to marry childhood sweetheart Blake, help run the family estate, and fulfill townspeople’s expectations. Kat has other aspirations, and her modern-day story mirrors the past she uncovers while reading Katrina Van Tassel’s diary entries, which are presented in chapters interspersed with the contemporary timeline. Katrina is a distant relative whose life was the source for many of the town’s myths and rituals. Blake attempts a spell with his friends, pushing Kat to participate against her wishes. Increasingly frustrated with him, Kat becomes fast friends with Isadora Crow, a mysterious, dark-haired classmate whom Blake dislikes. As Isadora and Kat explore Katrina’s diary, they begin to have feelings that are stronger than friendship. The young women’s curiosity about the diary grows—alongside their romance, which becomes more than a crush. Mild chills and dual timelines drive the plot; the latter at times are too neatly mirrored. Horror readers hungry for a retelling will find few scares, but the same-sex relationship breathes some new life into the legend. Most characters default to White.

A sweet retelling of a spooky classic. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews