THE FASCINATORS

Spellcasting gets extracurricular at a Georgia high school.

Seniors Sam, Delia, and James are the three (and only) members of the Friedman High Fascinators, their school’s magic club. The trio hopes to do well at their last magic competition before college, but the “infinite question marks” surrounding Sam and James’ feelings for each other are nothing if not distracting. Rather than talk it out, James keeps partying and spending time with Amber, a girl from his church. Meanwhile, the club recruits new-to-town Denver, a boy who seems keen on Sam. When James steals a spell book at a party, a group of dark magic practitioners haunts the Fascinators until they return it. But even if they give it back, will their lives be the same? Eliopulos, an editor at HarperCollins, makes his YA debut with a strong, queercentric premise. The tight, third-person–omniscient focus on Sam offers a contagious flair for the dramatic. Though light on the specificities and rules of magic, Eliopulos draws powerful parallels between queerness and magical ability in a Deep South where the fear of both is present but not prevailing. However, with all the crescendo of the promising premise, the ending tumbles toward anticlimactic. Multiple unanswered questions hint at a potential sequel. The cast assumes a white default, though black-haired Amber has dark brown skin and other character names code for diversity.

A magical exploration of queer and religious themes.