Publishers Weekly Review
| Ireland (Dread Nation) delivers a knockout punch in this fantastical steampunk take on the Great Depression, in which the U.S. rebuilds after a magical blight throws the country into disarray. In 1937, Black 17-year-old Laura Ann Langston, a powerful queer mage hailing from small-town Shrinesville, Pa., goes to New York City seeking a grand future beyond her family's humble farm. Unable to procure a job and low on funds, she seeks help from the Colored Auxiliary branch of the Bureau of the Arcane's Conservation Corps--a group of Black mages responsible for maintaining the magical machines that power the U.S. economy. Mages sent to research and manage the blight that still threatens the country's machinery are disappearing, and the Skylark, the enigmatic head of the Floramancy Division, grudgingly takes Laura on as her apprentice. But Laura and the Skylark fear for their lives and the country's future when their investigation unveils dangerous archaic magic thought long gone. Ireland mingles an in-depth understanding of human nature with a wildly ambitious reimagining of the Depression era, balancing matters of race, gender, and sexuality in this thoroughly unique perspective of historical magical fantasy. B&W photographs depicting real-life U.S. history, featured throughout, enrich the narrative. Ages 14--up. (Sept.) |
School Library Journal Review
| Gr 8 Up--Laura Ann Langstan is a queer Black girl growing up in an alternate 1930s America. In this world, the mystical arts can be practiced, but only with a license, and Laura seeks hers by joining the Bureau of the Arcane's Conservation Corps in New York as an apprentice to a mysterious woman named Skylark. As the two go on a mission into the oldest Blight in America to fix the corruption to the area, they discover there is more to Laura than anyone, including Laura herself, previously thought. Ireland seamlessly weaves historical events with the mystical world she created, making the fantasy of this book feel very real and fleshed out. This work puts a much-needed perspective into YA historical fiction and does not hold back when examining America's dark past of racism and exploitation. The cast of characters is almost entirely Black and has LGBTQIA+ representation in Laura as well as Malik, a boy in the Conservation Corps. This book is exciting, with a litany of in-depth characters that readers will love. VERDICT This novel tackles important social issues while providing an exciting and fast-paced adventure that's hard to put down. Highly recommended for any YA collection.--Carleigh Obrochta |
