CATHEDRAL OF BONES

Simon Frost has been struggling for years.

When he was 10, his mother disappeared and his twin sister, Olivia, died. Now Simon is 12, and his father is distant, a formerly powerful Animist who has become the subject of dreadful rumors. Simon is struggling to master the magic that would make him a true Animist, one who can create and control monstrous creatures large and small. After heading off to attend Eidendel’s Foundation Academy and miserably failing his apprenticeship, Simon is reassigned to work in the drudgery of a dusty, old mailroom. When the Foundation ignores a letter that arrives from the tiny village of Splithead Creek—begging for an Animist to rescue them from a terrorizing monster—Simon disobeys orders to drop it and sets out alone to save the tiny village. But things are not as he expected, and instead he winds up on a journey to right past wrongs, change his world, and rethink everything he ever thought he knew about his own life. Simon is an unlikely hero who will win readers’ hearts through his sheer determination to fight for what is right by any means necessary. Steiger has developed an original fantasy with creative worldbuilding, strong pacing, and a sympathetic protagonist. The complex narrative structure may be challenging to younger readers. Most characters are presumed to be White.

An imaginative, thrilling page-turner.