The Daggers of Ire (The Daggers of Ire #1)

All the brujxes of the city of San Bosco have a magical specialty that involves dominion over one of four elements: fire, earth, water, and air. All except 12-year-old Esmerelda Santos. She’s secretly a witch of Chaos, an element considered illegal by magical society. Following her mother’s death in an accident, Esme is desperate to help her father, who has since “curled up into a ball of grief.” She soon finds a spell to “render a heart full again,” but before she can cast it, all the other witches of San Bosco suddenly disappear. At her older sister’s final behest before her vanishing, Esme and her involuntarily shape-shifting friend embark on a quest to find one of San Bosco’s original witches, whom no one has seen in over a century. A somewhat slow start evolves into an adventure of epic proportions, brimming with talking animals, mysterious realms, and witch hunters. Cervantes (Dawn of the Jaguar) doesn’t let the rollicking fun overshadow themes such as sisterhood and grief, all of which is handled with care. Major characters cue as Latinx. Ages 8–12. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Sept.)