WINTERBORNE

In Netto’s fantasy novel, a teenage boy learns that his name is a lie, his bloodline is a secret, and he’s the fulfillment of a prophecy that he never knew existed.

Henric Sabio lives in the small Massachusetts town of Carmel, where his mother’s unsolved murder has left his family in permanent emotional shutdown and his social life in ruins. His only real companion is an ice dragon that visits him in his dreams, whose scales the boy has etched into every notebook he owns. A violent confrontation with his former best friend, Peter—now the school bully—triggers a cascade of strange events, and Henric’s ordinary world collapses overnight: His English teacher is revealed to be a supernatural enemy, his dad turns out to be a prince in hiding, and a portal appears that takes Henric and his family to Winterborne, a snowy kingdom featuring blue-flamed lampposts and public executions on cobblestoned squares. It also turns out that his grandparents, King Thelon and Queen Osalia Iceheart, together sit on a throne that a prophecy says Henric will claim. After the teen discovers his ability to control fire and ice, he meets new potential allies, including the elf historian Hundarian, who becomes Henric’s love interest, and Kellenen, a morally opaque guide with oddly gray eyes that resemble one of Henric’s own mismatched pair. An ancient rivalry between factions later plays out in dragon battles above the burning capital. Netto writes with a genuine flair for the visceral. Henric’s voice crackles with dead-on teenage bitterness, and the novel handles the queer romantic content with a directness that feels important, rather than incidental. The worldbuilding leans more atmospheric than systematic with its miasma of “frostflames” and bone imagery. However, the novel’s momentum occasionally works against it; the contemporary opening gives way to the fantasy world faster than the emotional stakes can fully settle, and the crowded final act leaves some of the most interesting character dynamics feeling underserved. An ambitious ending leaves the door open for a planned sequel.

A lively, if unevenly executed, fantasy tale.