Every summer the trucks roll in, bringing the carnival and its infinite possibilities to town. This year Tessa and her younger sister, Lulu, are unchaperoned and want to be first in line to experience the rides, the food . . . and the boys. Except this summer, jealousy will invade their relationship for the first time, setting in motion a course of events that can only end in tragedy, putting everyone's love and friendship to the test.

Alternating chapters of prose and comics are interwoven in The Year of the Beasts, an extraordinary novel from Cecil Castellucci and Nate...