The Beasts We Bury

Sixteen-year-old heir to the throne Mancella Cliff wields a terrible gift: she can control animal spirits, but only by killing them with her bare hands first. Her father, a ruthless ruler, believes Mancella is his greatest weapon; Mancella yearns only for peace. Meanwhile teenage Silver is intimately familiar with the cost of war. Following his parents’ deaths, he’s placed in an orphanage that turns its inhabitants into soldiers. Though Silver and his friends escape, they live hand-to-mouth, unable to find work without “the proper papers.” Offered a job by a mysterious man, Silver breaks into the palace to steal items of great importance to the throne to secure his future. There, he targets Mancella for help, believing her to be monstrous but malleable; Mancella agrees, thinking Silver an ally who can stop the current war brewing. Via the teens’ alternating perspectives, Silver discovers Mancella is more than her reputation implies, and Mancella learns that, with her power, she can become more than a pawn in her father’s schemes. Court intrigue and humorous banter propel Taylor’s whirlwind romantic fantasy debut. Characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Catherine Cho, Paper Literary. (Feb.)