Kingdom of Dust

In Kun, a kingdom plagued by dust and famine, 12-year-old Amara and her adoptive mother struggle to make ends meet on the family farm. When a harvest festival—attended by Eze Udo, the usually absent king and presumptive heir to the goddess Oala—erupts in hunger-fueled pandemonium, Amara and her mother’s escape is cut off by the king’s guard’s attempt to abduct Amara. Forced to abandon her mother to save herself, Amara seeks sanctuary with a hidden sect of griots, magic users bound to the will of Oala. They inform Amara that Eze Udo is not the true king, and that conditions in Kun will worsen until Oala’s rightful heir is restored. Amara is tasked with retrieving said heir, who she learns is a powerful girl sequestered in a tower—and looks exactly like Amara. A rapidly paced resolution prevents the emotional resonance of Amara’s grounding perspective from sticking the landing. Stringfellow (A Comb of Wishes) nevertheless communicates incisive ideas surrounding war and oppression via sparse prose, while Igbo mythology–fueled worldbuilding and Amara’s bond with her mother form an immovable fulcrum around which the story revolves. A glossary concludes. Ages 8–12. Agent: Lindsay David Auld, Writers House. (Aug.)