Racing the Dark
A brilliant new novel from a 25-year-old debut author, Racing the Dark is set in a land of volcanoes and earthquakes, plagues and typhoons, of island nations bound by fear of the spirits they imprisoned to control their volatile environment.
Lana, a teenaged girl on a nameless backwater island, finds an ominous blood-red jewel that marks her as someone with power, setting in motion events that drive her away from her family and into an apprenticeship with a mysterious one-armed witch. Lana begins to learn the spells and incantations, each of which requires some form of sacrifice from the person who employs it. As Lana becomes more powerful, she is deceived into a sacrifice she is unwilling to make – the life of her own mother. When Lana dares to use a dark, ancient spell to save her mother's life, she is set onto a path toward becoming a creature beyond her wildest imaginings.
This is an unforgettable coming-of-age story set in a world where wielding the power of magic requires understanding the true meaning of sacrifice.
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Alaya Dawn Johnson
Alaya Dawn Johnson has become a writer to watch in both the adult and YA arenas, with her work being consistently praised for its lyrical beauty and incisive commentary. She won the 2015 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i," which also appears in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy (2015), guest edited by Joe Hill. Her debut YA novel, The Summer Prince (Arthur A. Levine, 2013), was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Her follow up YA novel, Love is the Drug won the Andre Norton Award in 2015. She is currently based in Mexico City, pursuing a Masters in Mesoamerican Studies. Her other home base is New York City.
The Spirit Binders
The Spirit Binders consists of two books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
