AN EVIL ON STANTON STREET

A peculiar girl ropes three orphans into her revenge scheme in Gabay’s YA historical fantasy novel.

In 1930, Neve Lilith, who’s been trapped in a magical “realm” (where the soil is “besotted with witch magic”)for eight years, still looks like she’s 19. Working for a bootlegger allows her to take repeated trips, via a mirror portal, to her home of New York City, but she can never stay for long before returning to the alternate world. She plots revenge against the (literal) witch who exiled her to the realm: Invidia, matron at a New York orphanage. Neve’s plan involves 17-year-old orphans and friends Nicky Veo, Willie Taylor, and Calvin Jones; these boys, who were 10 when they arrived at the orphanage, are now months away from their “freedom day.” Neve, who can only talk to them when they’re outside the orphanage, separately makes contact with each. Neve gets one boy’s help in the other realm and sets another against some wicked men who are falsely accusing women of engaging in sex work. It’s a fraught business; if the boys miss their 7:00 pm curfew, Invidia tortures them (not that she needs the excuse). Gabay’s taut novel hits the ground running—Neve’s plan is cooking from the start, and she’s steeped in mystery. (She has the ability to see ghosts, for example.) Her murky past gradually comes to light—she has another reason for seeking retribution—as do the boys, each with a connection to Neve. Gabay’s characters shine, including a crooked police officer, Neve’s bootlegging gangster boss, and Willie, who’s gay but too scared to come out, even to the boy he likes. Although Neve plays the boys to her advantage, there’s no doubt she cares about them. Some elements of the story remain obscure; Neve’s rationale for how she knows so much (about the realm and assorted dubious people in NYC) doesn’t quite satisfactorily explain everything.

A more-than-capable hero leads a superb cast in this curious blend of the otherworldly and 1930s Manhattan.