The Court of Miracles (The Court of Miracles #1)

Grant’s ambitious debut, which launches a trilogy inspired by Les Misérables and The Jungle Book, opens in 1823 Paris, where the criminal underground comprises nine guilds bound by a governing body dubbed the Miracle Court. Olive-skinned Eponine (“Nina”) is just nine when her rage-filled father, Thénardier, sells her older sister, Azelma, to the Guild of Flesh’s ruthless leader, Kaplan (“the Tiger”). To spare Nina the same fate, Azelma arranges for the fledgling cat burglar to join the Guild of Thieves, thus earning her its leader’s protection. Court law forbids guilds from interfering in each other’s affairs, but that doesn’t stop Nina from attempting to rescue Azelma—or from plotting to thwart the Tiger when, six years later, he sets his sights on Cosette, Thénardier’s 12-year-old ward. Vividly sketched characters, high stakes, and a harrowing plot distinguish Grant’s tale, which champions justice and found family while opposing human trafficking. Nina’s tender relationship with Cosette offsets the story’s brutality, and her flirtations with a merciless assassin, a passionate revolutionary, and others inject humor and romance. Ages 14–up. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary. (June)