Edgewood

Two years ago, at age 17, aspiring folk-pop artist Emeline Lark left Edgewood to pursue her dreams in Montreal. Edgewood’s forest still approaches whenever she sings, creeping into every club she plays as if drawn to her voice, but only Emeline seems to notice the insects swarming her legs and the moss sprouting from her microphone. She wonders if “her mind wasn’t perhaps going the way of” Pa, the grandfather who raised her, who lives with dementia—but she’s about to travel the world as her favorite band’s opening act, so she endeavors to ignore the phenomenon, real or not. When Pa goes missing, Emeline returns home to help search. Though locals say Pa was taken by the Wood King, an ancient being who demands quarterly tithes, Emeline believes he simply wandered off. After finding the Wood King’s marker on Pa’s pillow, however, she realizes the truth behind Edgewood’s legends and mounts a rescue. Though anemic worldbuilding occasionally disappoints, atmospheric prose and tender queer and straight romances lift this standalone fantasy from Ciccarelli (the Iskari series), who weaves a spellbinding tale of magic, music, and sacrifice. Emmeline cues as white; several supporting characters have brown skin. Ages 13–up. Agent: Danielle Burby, Nelson Literary. (Mar.)