Author(s): Naomi Novik

Fantasy & Magical Realism

The second book in a rich and fantastical coming-of-age trilogy about powerful teenagers, their dangerous (and occasionally deadly) magic school, and their wider wizarding world, woven through with themes of societal inequality, the power of friendship, and the importance of questioning and challenging the status quo. Elle is gifted with an incredibly deadly and destructive 'affinity' - even the simplest of household spells could twist into something cataclysmic if she's not on her guard. Elle knows what might happen if she ever gave into using the wrong kind of magic. A prophecy claimed she would cause the downfall of wizarding society as they know it, and so she has fought against her dark affinity all her life.And outside the school's walls, not all is as it seems. A terrible secret festers at the heart of wizarding society and Elle will have to find people she can trust and embrace her powers - maybe even her dark affinity - in an attempt to set things right and save her world.