by J. Elle
First published 2022
Rue has always made do with nothing in her Houston neighborhood. When gunmen kill her mother on their doorstep, everything changes. Her absent father arrives to take her away, forcing her to abandon her younger sister Tasha. He brings Rue to Ghizon, a secret island where magic users live. Rue learns she is half god and half human, the only one of her kind among people who guard their powers jealously and feed on human pain. She hates her new life and breaks the island's most sacred rule by returning to Houston on the anniversary of her mother's death. Back home, she finds Black children being pushed into violence and crime. Tasha faces the same dangers that killed their mother. Rue realizes the same evil force operates in both worlds, threatening to destroy everyone she cares about. She must accept who she really is and use her ancestral powers to protect her neighborhood before the gods destroy it completely.
Genres: african-american, adventure, fantasy, action
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: chosen-one, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Ghizon, Houston
384 pages · Paperback · Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Content warnings: violence