Annie Metcalf

In 1893 Chicago, Alter Rosen lives on Maxwell Street, a neighborhood populated by Jewish immigrants like himself who have recently arrived from Russia and Eastern Europe. Alter’s life is difficult. He feels lucky to have found a job at a Yiddish newspaper when so many must work in dangerous slaughterhouses and textile mills. Alter works hard and saves as much money as possible to pay for his mother and sisters to join him in America. It’s a task he must undertake alone, after his father died during their own voyage two years ago. Alter must also keep his feelings toward other boys, especially his friend and roommate, Yakov, to himself. 

There are new tensions in the neighborhood to deal with as well. Despite the excitement over the World’s Fair, a series of disappearances—all teenage, Jewish boys—have troubled Alter’s community. When Yakov is found dead, the police declare it an accident and show no interest in investigating further. As Alter assists in the ritual cleansing of Yakov’s body, something strange happens: Alter becomes convinced Yakov is alive, feels their souls cleave together and then passes out. When he awakens, he feels changed by the experience, convinced that Yakov was murdered and determined to find answers. 

With help from Raizel Ackermann, a passionate anarchist and reporter for the Arbeiter Zeitung newspaper, Alter tracks down leads about Yakov and the other missing boys. His search reconnects him with Frankie, a charismatic criminal he knew during his early days in Chicago. Working together, the three race against time to uncover heinous crimes of abuse, coercion, corruption and hatred committed against the backdrop of the Gilded Age’s grand ambitions and gory underbelly. 

Author Aden Polydoros’ third traditionally published novel is a gorgeous, disturbing, visceral and mystical experience. Alter is an exemplary historical fiction protagonist. His perspective, opinions and concerns are fitting reflections of his time, religion and cultural background, but his journey of growth and self-acceptance will satisfy contemporary readers. The inclusion of a subplot drawn from Jewish folklore complements the primary narrative perfectly and adds a clever ticking clock to the story, and though the novel is long, it rarely loses momentum. The relationships between Alter, Raizel and Frankie are tender and playful and provide brightness amid an otherwise dark story.

The City Beautiful is steeped in vibrant historical detail, including the exhilarating but superficial atmosphere of the World’s Fair, the vile working conditions of the meat industry, the burgeoning socialist and workers’ movements and the era’s wave of Jewish immigration to America. Polydoros pulls no punches when depicting the horrifically inhuman treatment that workers (many of whom were children) experienced during this time, which some readers may find distressing. His unflinching and well-rounded depiction of Jewish American and immigrant history makes The City Beautiful a superb addition to the ranks of YA historical fiction. 

It’s been a year since Clara lost control of her powerful magic and accidentally killed her best friend, and she still lives in fear that her powers will hurt someone again. Her magic just seems drawn to the people she loves—with disastrous consequences.

Clara is an Everwitch, a rare witch who can access the magic of all four seasons. While her peers at the Eastern School of Solar Magic are at their most powerful in spring, summer, fall or winter, Clara’s powers rotate and change with the seasons, and her fear of her own magic is starting to cause her to fall behind at school.

In The Nature of Witches, witches are key players in the global fight against climate change and atmospheric disruption, especially since shaders (people who don’t have magic) insist on developing and exploiting places on the planet that should remain wild. As an Ever, Clara should be a singularly powerful witch, destined to be indispensable in the intensifying struggle to calm the raging atmosphere. But Clara is stuck, too scared to train the way her teachers want her to but conscious of the grave responsibility an Ever holds.

The environmental situation is worsening, and Clara must decide whether to join the fight for the planet or take the drastic step of relinquishing her powers forever. When she’s paired with a new training partner, the calm and gentle spring witch Sang Park, Clara begins to see a way to trust herself and her powers again.

Rachel Griffin’s debut YA novel is a fascinating blend of climate fiction, fantasy, boarding school novel and romance. Clara’s trauma and fear are well developed, and her backstory makes her extreme resistance to forging relationships or using her magic understandable. The connections Griffin builds between the natural world and the witches’ magic are fresh and intriguing.

The book’s looming sense of danger comes from the chaotic environment, one in which the climate crisis has worsened significantly, rather than from a traditional antagonist, which leaves more room for Clara’s interiority and growth. YA fantasy connoisseurs may be able to predict a few revelations about Clara’s magic, as well as some story beats along the way, but the near-future setting and the witches’ ancient earth-magic practices are exciting and immersive. Steeped in love for the natural world, The Nature of Witches is a new spin on familiar themes that readers will find inspiring and satisfying.

Marit Olsen is alone in the world. Her father died in an accident in the wealthy Vestergaard family’s mines. The Firn, an icy buildup in the veins that freezes a body from the inside as a result of the overuse of magic, claimed her sister not long after. Like her sister, Marit has magic; Marit’s gives her a connection to fabric, thread and sewing. She can embroider a dress in one night that would take an expert seamstress weeks. But like all magic users, Marit uses her gift sparingly for fear of the Firn.

On the cusp of aging out of the orphanage, Marit is determined to look out for Eve, a younger girl with a gift for ballet who has become like a little sister to her. When Eve is adopted by Helene Vestergaard, Marit manages to obtain a place as a seamstress in the Vestergaard household. As she settles in among the staff, she realizes they all have magical abilities that they use often. While Eve adjusts to a life of wealth and privilege, Marit uncovers new information about her father’s accident with the help of her new friends, siblings Liljan and Jakob. If her father’s death wasn’t an accident, could the Vestergaards have been involved? Is Eve in danger? Marit will risk it all, including the Firn, to ensure that her chosen family is safe.

Emily Bain Murphy’s second novel is an assured blend of historical fiction and fantasy, with satisfyingly researched details appearing alongside a simple but powerful system of magic. The story includes a slow-burning romance, but Marit’s prickly enemies-to-friends relationship with another household servant is even more compelling. Most satisfying is the book’s villain, an occasional narrator whose identity is revealed in time. Murphy has created a more nuanced villain than is usually attempted in YA fantasy, with valid (yet misguided) goals and easily understandable, even sympathetic motivations. 

Marit’s struggle to find and protect her found family, the lush and hygge-filled Scandinavian surroundings and the thrilling showdown with a complex villain make Splinters of Scarlet a finely woven tale perfect for historical fiction and fantasy readers alike.

Sasha Bloom never really fit in at school, preferring to interact with her classmates from behind the safety of her camera lens. Mostly, Sasha spent time with her single mom; it had been just the two of them for a long time. But then came the massive earthquake and her mom’s death. With nowhere else to go, Sasha is taken in by grandparents she barely knows and brought home to their wealthy town of Bayport.

After spending her summer in a blur of grief, Sasha starts junior year at Baycrest High and feels like she’s in a new world. For one thing, the popular kids are also great students, loading up their schedules with honors classes and tightly focused on the college application process. The school has tons of extracurriculars, like Art Club, that her old school didn’t—never mind that Sasha hasn’t picked up her camera since the earthquake. Her classmates seem eager to befriend her, but is that just because their families belong to the same country club as her grandparents? Despite her new surroundings, Sasha still feels pressure, judgment and insecurity as she navigates her conflicted emotions about her seemingly ready-made friends, her grandparents’ determination to set her on a more conventional path in life than her mother’s and her intense interest in a beautiful classmate, Lily. But how much of Sasha’s difficult feelings are the result of external influence, and how much are they the result of pressure she puts on herself?

YA author Robyn Schneider’s fourth novel is anchored by Sasha’s experiences of loss and confusion, but the wry wit and artistic sensibility of Sasha’s narrative voice make You Don’t Live Here shine. Schneider absolutely nails the way that making new friends can be full of awkward hopefulness and fear. Some of the assumptions that Sasha makes about other people, particularly with regard to her grandparents, are unfounded, while others, including her anxiety about revealing her bisexuality to her conservative family, will ring true for teen readers. You Don’t Live Here is at its most affecting when Sasha gains the courage to put her feelings about her sexuality into words, even if just to herself. Sasha’s journey to understand who she is and express it to others makes for a moving and authentic read.

Enebish, a warrior in the Sky King’s army, is a Night Spinner, capable of bending the darkness to her will. Or she was—until the night that her power broke free and she massacred innocent merchants instead of enemy soldiers. Enebish doesn’t remember that night; all she knows is that her adopted sister, Commander Ghoa, stopped the slaughter by severely injuring Enebish’s arm and leg, and then intervened with the Sky King on her behalf. Instead of being executed, Enebish was given traitor’s marks, cut off from her powers and sentenced to live out the rest of her days in a monastery. Two years later, Ghoa returns from the front lines with an offer: Return to the city, befriend Temujin—the leader of a group stealing vital supplies from the military—and deliver him into custody.

As Enebish gets closer to Temujin, she discovers that he’s been distributing the stolen supplies to impoverished shepherds whose winter grazing fields are damaged, while the Sky King and his army are doing nothing. She also learns that Temujin, like her, still prays to the forbidden First Gods rather than to the Sky King. Although Temujin’s cause may be just, Enebish still isn’t sure whether she can trust him. Caught between yearning for her freedom, loyalty to her family and her desire to know and do what is right, Enebish must learn how to be a warrior again, despite her fear of losing control.

Author Addie Thorley conjures a social setting drawn from an intriguing mix of cultures, in an environment that combines wintry tundra and harsh steppe, along with hints of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Its twisty plot, intriguing blend of magic and religion, and a vulnerable but noble narrator make Night Spinner perfect for readers looking for a slightly offbeat YA fantasy.

The only things Ximena possessed the day she was found wandering the streets of La Ciudad Blanca were her loom and her striking resemblance to the Condesa Catalina, the last surviving member of Illustrian royalty after the Llacsan revolt. Rather than continue to live on the streets, young Ximena agreed to become Catalina’s double, to appear as Catalina in public in order to keep the real Catalina safe.

Ten years later, Ximena has lived in the Illustrian Keep alongside Catalina as her sister, confidant and loyal subject. Only Ximena and a select and trusted few know that Catalina is the real Condesa and Ximena only a decoy; most Illustrians believe Ximena to be Catalina, the leader who will take over and rule once they defeat Atoc, the false king.

So when a messenger arrives bearing the news that Atoc has demanded the Condesa’s hand in marriage, Ximena knows it’s an opportunity for her to gather crucial information for the Illustrians’ planned attack on the Llacsans. Although Ximena would prefer to practice her magical weaving than serve as a warrior or a spy, she is excited for a chance to return her beloved Catalina to the throne and for the possibility of victory after years of stalemate. But once she is among her lifelong enemies, playing the role of Catalina on the most important stage yet, Ximena’s encounters with a friendly guard, an infuriating healer and others she meets in the Llacsan court cast doubt on many of the convictions she’s held since childhood. 

Woven in Moonlight is a nuanced and empathetic fantasy inspired by Bolivian folklore, history and politics. Ximena is a kind and strong protagonist whose experiences challenge her to outgrow her prejudice and desire for vengeance. Touching on ideas of restorative justice in a unique and vivid setting, Isabel Ibañez delivers a confident, subtle and inspiring debut about what it takes to move a divided society forward.