Kingdom of Souls

“Masterful. From start to finish, this magical debut is not to be missed.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

The lush world building of Children of Blood and Bone meets the sweeping scale of Strange the Dreamer in this YA fantasy debut in which magic comes at a terrible price.

Born into a family of powerful witch doctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. But as she fails at bone charms, fails to call upon the ancestors, and fails to see the future, her ambitious mother looks upon her with ever-growing disapproval.

There is only one thing Arrah hasn’t tried, a deadly last resort: trading years of her own life for scraps of magic. Until the city’s children begin to vanish, and Arrah is desperate to find the culprit.

What she uncovers is even more horrifying. The Demon King, whose hunger for souls nearly destroyed the world before he was defeated and imprisoned by the ancient orishas, is stirring. Arrah’s only hope of stopping him is to sacrifice more and more of her years for magic. But she’ll do anything to save the people she loves. Even if it kills her.

Inspired by tales of folk magic in her own community, Rena Barron spins a darkly magical tale about a girl caught between gods, monsters, and her own mother’s schemes.