Innocent Darkness

In Lazear’s debut novel, partly set in an alternate 1901 California, the author presents a world and a heroine animated by the can-do spirit that typifies the steampunk genre. The independent streak that lands 16-year-old Magnolia “Noli” Braddock in a draconian reform school (after she crashes a flying car) also attracts Kevighn Silver, huntsman to the faery high queen. He’s searching the mortal realm for a girl with “the Spark” to save the faery Otherworld from fading away forever. Desperate to escape the terrible Findlay House, Noli unwittingly transports herself to the Otherworld and into Kevighn’s clutches. It’s up to her natural smarts—and her best friend V (who has secrets of his own)—to keep her alive. In addition to creating an intriguing world and cast, Lazear weaves real substance into her story. The characters wrestle with the ethics of the situation, which boil down to the life of one girl weighed against those of an entire race, and their roles in it. This first book in the Aether Chronicles has style and substance to spare. Ages 15–up. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency. (Aug.)■