A Mastery of Monsters

Seventeen-year-old August Black doesn’t believe that her older brother Jules would abandon her. Yet all she has of her mysteriously vanished sibling is the cryptic note he left behind in his university dorm room in Kingston, Canada, warning her of dangerous monsters. August’s investigation into his disappearance leads her to shape-shifter Virgil Hawthorne, one of the monsters Jules cautioned her against. As part of a magical underground organization called the Learners’ Society, Virgil must bond with a human “Master” so that he may retain his humanity while in his monstrous form, or risk imprisonment by the institution’s elites. Though August agrees to bond with Virgil in exchange for his help in finding Jules, their tenuous alliance sees August navigating the group’s complex rules and enigmatic followers as well as a brutal competition for permanent membership. August’s acerbic, quick-witted narration tackles the society’s sinister ideals head-on, while confident prose by Sambury (Tender Beasts) skillfully explores nuanced examinations of parental pressure and neglect, prejudice, systemic violence, and unjust power dynamics. Propulsive pacing, layered lore, and high emotional stakes further distinguish this dark academia series opener. August and Virgil are Black. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kristy Hunter, Knight Agency. (July)