Kirkus Reviews, “Best Teens and YA Books of 2023” Bank Street Best Children's Books 2024 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Books A feminist retelling of 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, yet nuanced in its exploration of the guilt of a complex character.