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If Looks Could Kill

LIST PRICE $21.99

About The Book

From Printz Honor–winning and New York Times bestselling author Julie Berry, a true-crime-nail-biter-turned-mythic-odyssey pitting Jack the Ripper against Medusa. A defiant love song to sisterhood, a survivors’ battle cry, and a romantic literary tour de force laced with humor.

It’s autumn 1888, and Jack the Ripper is on the run. As London police close in, he flees England for New York City seeking new victims. But a primal force of female vengeance has had enough. With serpents for hair and a fearsome gaze, an awakened Medusa is hunting for one thing: Jack.

And other dangers lurk in Manhattan’s Bowery. Salvation Army volunteers Tabitha and Pearl discover that a girl they once helped has been forced to work in a local brothel. Tabitha’s an upstate city girl with a wry humor and a thirst for adventure, while farmgirl Pearl takes everything with stone-cold seriousness. Their brittle partnership is tested as they team up with an aspiring girl reporter and a handsome Irish bartender to mount a rescue effort, only to find their fates entwine with Medusa’s and Jack’s.

Appearances

SEP 8
18:30:00
in person
Author's Note
In Person
519 Main Street
Medina, NY 14103
SEP 13
14:00:00
in person
Once Upon A Time Bookstore
In Person
2207 Honolulu Ave
Montrose, CA 91020
SEP 15
18:30:00
in person
The King's English
In Person
1511 S 1500 E
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
SEP 16
18:00:00
in person
Provo City Library at Academy Square
In Person
550 N University Ave
Provo, UT 84601
SEP 17
0:00:00
in person
Dr. Tumblety's
In Person
753 E Warrington Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15210
SEP 19
18:30:00
in person
Parnassus Books
In Person
3900 Hillsboro Pike #14
Nashville, TN 37215
SEP 20
0:00:00
in person
LitUp Festival
In Person
Mid-Continent Public Library
Kansas City, MO 64157
SEP 22
17:00:00
in person
The Toadstool Bookshop
In Person
12 Emerald St
Keene, NH 03431
SEP 23
19:00:00
in person
Maynard Public Library
In Person
77 Nason St
Maynard, MA 01754
NOV 8
0:00:00
in person
Rochester Children's Book Festival
In Person
Monroe Community College
1000 East Henrietta Road
Rochester, NY 14623

About The Author

Photography by Travis Tanner

Julie Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of the 2020 NCTE Walden Award and SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner Lovely War, the 2017 Printz Honor and Los Angeles Times Book Prize–shortlisted The Passion of Dolssa, the Carnegie Medal– and Edgar Award–shortlisted All the Truth That’s in Me, the Odyssey Honor The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, and the Wishes and Wellingtons trilogy. Her picture books include The Night Frolic, Happy Right Now, and Cranky Right Now. Julie holds a BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in communication and an MFA from Vermont College of the Fine Arts. Julie lives in western New York, where she owns Author’s Note, an independent bookstore.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (September 16, 2025)
  • Length: 448 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781534470811
  • Grades: 7 and up
  • Ages: 12 - 99

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