Part of Wayward Children
First published 2027
Onishi Sumiko lives in her older brother's shadow, the invisible second child of immigrant parents who expects nothing more than quiet compliance with the life others have mapped out for her. Everything changes when she discovers an impossible door that pulls her into Confection, a realm where peppermint dreams mix with sugary terrors and logic means nothing. The candy world operates by rules that shift without warning, trapping Sumiko in sweetness that conceals genuine danger. She faces a choice that will define who she becomes. She can remain the obedient, reasonable girl who accepts whatever fate hands her, or she can embrace the absurd and transform into something her old world never would have allowed. In Confection, being illogical might be the only way to survive, and being impossible might be the only way to save others. Sumiko must discover whether she has the strength to become Sumi, the hero this strange new world needs.
Genres: adventure, coming-of-age, fantasy, young-adult, young-adult-fantasy
Vibes: dark, introspective, surreal, transformative, whimsical
Tropes: chosen-one, fish-out-of-water, portal-to-another-world, self-discovery
Setting: Confection
160 pages · Hardcover · Tordotcom