Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler - HIGH

Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler, 368 pages.  Tor Teen, January 2019.  $18.

Language: PG-13 (43 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (implied sex); Violence: R (much blood and fighting)

BUYING ADVISORY:  HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Isoka only exists to protect her younger sister Tori – even if it means using her magic to beat and kill. Then she is captured by the Empire’s Immortals and thrown onto the Soliton – a ghost ship that requires magic wielders as tribute.  She has a year to take control of the ship of the Empire , then her sister will be ruined. But life on the ship is a dog eat dog existence – death is common, life is cheap.  Isoka’s clade is at the bottom of the pile and the Captain is unavailable. Isoka will do whatever it takes to claw her way to the top and save Tori.

If your students love Lex Thomas’s Quarantine series, they will also love this.  The plot is a frame for bloody battles as Isoka claws her way to her answers.  Its billed as a YA fantasy novel, but it really is more for adults. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

LGBTQIA+