Under the Heron’s Light

Alternating between Black 19-year-old Atlas’s first-person POV in the present and her ancestor’s third-person perspective in the 1770s, Pink (We Are the Scribes) offers an expansive intergenerational portrait that uses a fantastical lens to highlight the importance of family and knowing one’s history. While enslaved on a Virginia plantation in 1722, Babylou and her siblings are devastated by their mother’s violent murder. After Babylou uses supernatural powers to kill the white boy responsible, the siblings escape to the Great Dismal Swamp, a living entity that allows them to create a new home for themselves. In preparation for a present-day celebration, Atlas returns to her home near the Great Dismal Swamp in North Carolina to celebrate her grandmother Grannylou’s birthday. When Grannylou disappears into the swamp, and Atlas discovers that she has the ability to guide others through the marsh, she and her cousins band together to unravel the family secrets embedded in the bog. Mesmerizing storytelling brings together myriad backdrops, characters, storylines, and themes. Pulling inspiration from real events and places, Pink imbues this beguiling dark fantasy with striking texture, adding human elements to the eerie setting via fiercely wrought familial relationships. Ages 13–up. Agent: Marietta B. Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Oct.)