The Otherwhere Post

A teen endeavors to exonerate her father in this pulse-pounding fantasy from Taylor (Hotel Magnifique). The fictional worlds of Leyland, Inverly, and Barrow connect via Written Doors, passages made with scriptomancy—the art of using inked words to harness arcane magic. When a poisonous, predatory vine overruns Inverly, 12-year-old Maeve escapes to Leyland before someone burns the Doors to prevent the vines’ spread; her scriptomancer father is killed and posthumously blamed for the infestation, prompting Maeve to assume an alias. The Doors’ destruction limits inter-world communication to correspondence delivered by the backlogged, scriptomancer-staffed Otherwhere Post, which takes seven years to give Maeve—now a teen—an anonymous letter asserting her father’s innocence. Desperate to ID the sender, Maeve steals an apprentice courier’s identity and infiltrates the Post. Complicating matters are a nosy roommate, a handsome mentor who suspects Maeve is hiding something, and an unidentified extortionist who will expose Maeve if she doesn’t quit digging. Avalanching peril keeps the pages turning in Taylor’s intricately plotted, deliberately crafted tale. Inventive worldbuilding adds dimension, while witty banter and reluctant romance among intersectionally diverse, emotionally complex characters inject levity and depth. Ages 12–up. Agents: Hillary Jacobson and Alexandra Machinist, CAA. (Feb.)