We Are Blood and Thunder

February 24, 2020
A quarantined mountain city-state beset by a pestilent storm cloud blames magic for its plight in this YA fantasy debut. Lena, who cares for Ancestors in the city’s crypts is, at 17, convicted and jailed for being a mage; escaping, she seeks a life outside the castle, in a place where magic is revered. Meanwhile, mysterious Constance, daughter to the Duke, returns to the castle to claim her spot as heir and bring an end to the cloud that has been ravaging the area for six years. When the two cross paths in the uninhabitable foothills of Duke’s Forest, neither is privy to the other’s connection to the storm. Constance struggles to find a way to save her home and ascend the throne without revealing her own dealings with magic. Lena, training for control over her own unusual powers, discovers she might be able to help stop the storm cloud—if she wants to save the people who sentenced her to darkness and death. Deftly sweeping between Constance and Lena’s journeys of sacrifice and empowerment, Lupo weaves together a promising tale of magic, mourning, and betrayal, delicately showing how grief can be the most powerful magic of all. Ages 14–up.

March 15, 2020
In Lupo's debut, a deadly spell connects very different girls. Lena is an outcast. A facial birthmark brands her as a cryptling--a disabled or disfigured person banished underground to tend the bodies of deceased Ancestors. In Duke's Forest, Ancestors are worshiped and magic is outlawed. When a mysterious storm cloud brings a plague upon the kingdom and the Duke becomes ill, his representative, the sinister Justice, orders that all mages be executed. When she is convicted of magecraft, Lena must flee to the City of Kings and tame her powers by pledging herself to one of nine gods, forsaking the Ancestors. After six years, Constance, the Duke's daughter and a talented mage, has returned to Duke's Forest on a mission: to find and destroy the spell's "heart." But without the other, neither girl can succeed. Their stories build in alternating third-person chapters, increasing the suspense of their respective quests. Unfortunately, despite descriptive prose and musings on identity and self-acceptance, uneven character development and a rushed ending blunt the impact of their stories' intersection and weaken a climactic twist. The magic and social class systems are familiar; a romance feels hasty and contrived. Most characters, including Constance, appear to be white; several characters, including Lena, are brown skinned. A minor character is gay and closeted. Lyricism notwithstanding, this tale falls short of spellbinding. (maps, guide to the gods) (Fantasy. 13-18)

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