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Firebug | January 28, 2015

by Lish McBride (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers/Macmillan Children’s Books, September 2014)

Ava just wants to be a normal teenager who goes to school and hangs out with her boyfriend. The only thing standing in her way is the Coterie, a magical mafia run by a ruthless boss named Venus. Ava is a Firebug (someone who can start fires with her mind) and bound by blood to obey Venus’ every command—including carrying out murder. Serving Venus is a bitter life sentence, but Ava will do anything to protect her friends and her human guardian, Cade, from the Coterie. After losing her mother as a child, she knows that nothing is more important than family.

The situation changes one night when Ava refuses to obey one of Venus’ orders. After barely escaping Venus’ wrath, she goes on the run with her friends Lock (a half-nymph, half-human boy) and Ezra (a were-fox). But her defiance comes with a price: Venus captures Cade and gives Ava an ultimatum. With her loved ones in jeopardy, Ava begins her search for allies and a way to destroy Venus and the Coterie once and for all.

This is the delightful first book in a new series by Lish McBride. I fell in love with its fun characters, witty dialogue, high stakes, and entertaining action sequences. I highly recommend it, not only to fantasy readers but to readers of realistic fiction looking to try something different and lose themselves in a good story.

 

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