by Matt Ruff
First published 2024
Summer 1957 finds Atticus Turner traveling to North Carolina with his father Montrose to commemorate their ancestor's escape from slavery a century earlier. Their memorial journey turns deadly when they encounter an old enemy and must flee for their lives. Meanwhile in Chicago, George Berry learns he has cancer and makes a desperate pact with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, who offers a cure in exchange for resurrection. Fifteen-year-old Horace Berry joins his mother Hippolyta and Letitia Dandridge on what appears to be a research trip to Nevada for The Safe Negro Travel Guide. But Hippolyta harbors a secret mission that will transport her and Horace to the universe's edge and unleash new dangers on Letitia. Ruby continues her double life as white woman Hillary Hyde, but her transformation potion runs low just as an unexpected visitor arrives. These mounting crises pale when Caleb Braithwhite returns to Chicago, stripped of his former magic but wielding new power and seeking revenge.
Genres: 20th-century, fantasy, alternate-history, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Chicago, Nevada, North Carolina
Period: 1957, 19th-century
320 pages · Paperback · Harper Perennial
Content warnings: racism, violence