Iron Cast

Starred review from December 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Owing to a blood condition, hemopaths have the ability to perform a variety of illusions through poetry, painting, or music. In an alternate Boston, as Prohibition is on the verge of making alcohol illegal in 1919, hemopathy shows are also officially against the law. Corinne Wells and Ada Navarra have called Johnny Dervish's club, the Cast Iron, home for years, blending their respective magical talents as a wordsmith and a songsmith both on stage and in cons meant to rustle up enough money to keep the club open. After a routine job goes wrong, Ada is sent to a hemopath prison, and her attempt at escape sets off a series of events that leave two Cast Iron workers dead and Dervish in the wind. With only each other and their talents as hemopaths and con women to rely on, Ada and Corinne will have to confront uncomfortable truths about Johnny, the Cast Iron, and themselves if they want to keep their freedom. Woven with layered themes, including racial prejudice (Corinne is white, and Ada is mixed race), Soria's debut novel is an atmospheric alternate history fantasy. Readers will be easily swept up by the vivid descriptions of everything from historic Boston locations to complex hemopath illusions. Stories of the diverse cast of flawed and complicated characters striving to do better complement the solid female friendship at the core of this absorbing novel. VERDICT Mystery and fantasy blend well in this witty title filled with twists and fast-paced action. A first purchase for all fiction collections.-Emma Carbone, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2016
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Things aren't exactly copacetic in debut author Soria's fantastical reimagining of 1919 Boston. True to history, gangs run much of the streets, and tensions ripple through nightclubs as the threat of Prohibition looms, but Soria's story is driven by the conflict between regular folk ( regs ) and hemopathspeople who can't be near iron and whose artistic talents have transformative powers. It opens in the nightmarish Haversham Asyluman institution for hemopathswhere impetuous 16-year-old Corinne Wells (a wordsmith who conjures illusions with poetry) breaks out her best friend and partner in crime, Ava Navarra, a songsmith capable of manipulating emotion through music. The two flee to the Cast Iron, a speakeasy-type club where they work as performers and con artists. Though gangster-run, the Cast Iron is a rare safe haven for hemos like Corinne and, particularly, Ava, whose mixed race compounds the antagonism she already faces. When hemos begin disappearing and club-owner Johnny Dervish is attacked, the girls put everything on the line to save the Cast Iron and its crew. Soria writes with purpose, balancing evocative prose, tension and pacing, and multifaceted characters. Danger lurks not only in the girls' illicit lifestyle but also in the prejudice and violence directed toward hemopaths. Hand this entrancing historical fantasy to fans of Libba Bray's Diviners series or anyone who likes their magic on the seamier side.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)