Innocent Darkness (The Aether Chronicles)
Lazear handily marries steampunk and fairy elements in this satisfyingly complex adventure that features a strong female protagonist (human) and a credible fantasy world. In California in the first decade of the twentieth century, 16-year-old Noli faces a variety of difficulties that range from her placement in a nineteenth-century-style delinquent-girls’ institution (complete with period behavior-modification “treatments”) to a duplicitous fae suitor and the revelation that her best childhood friend is himself the son of an ambitious fairy queen. The tale unfolds mostly as Noli experiences it, with occasional peeks at some of the other central cast members when they are out of Noli’s presence. Although this is the first in a planned series, it comes to a solid closing in which some of Noli’s deepest longings—for home and for her true friends—are met. As with Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, this new series offers romance and adventure in equal balance, along with an engaging world. Grades 8-10. --Francisca Goldsmith