LUMINIFEROS

In Metro’s YA fantasy novel, a young woman journeys to a parallel world in search of her lost family.

Eighteen-year-old Lilly White still dreams of her parents and brother and of the verdant, magical land in which she lived when she was a small child. For 11 of the past 13 years, Lilly has lived in an orphanage in England, and for the last two she’s worked in a London library, searching for answers and a way back to her childhood home—or at least proof that she hasn’t been imagining it. One night, a gargoyle named Hairito introduces herself to Lilly. Gargoyles are usually ferocious creatures, but gentle Hairito presents Lilly with an invitation to return to Faivendei, an enchanted forest in the Spirit World. Lilly’s passage leads her to meet William C.J. Raven, an intense young man whose raven wings can detach and transform into a bird. Lilly feels at peace in Faivendei, but few people there welcome her arrival, as Lilly seems to be without magical talent; in fact, she’s the last of the vandors, or “soul-healers,” who can help those who have been consumed by darkness. With her power, Lilly could pull humankind back from the brink of self-destruction, but her presence might galvanize the evil forces of Noxohit and bring about Faivendei’s downfall. Metro writes from Lilly’s perspective, mixing languorous prose with unobtrusive dialogue and inner monologue. The story follows a well-trod path; William’s smoldering antipathy clearly marks him as Lilly’s future love interest, for example. What sets the book apart, though, is its embrace of gray areas. Hairito, for instance, is a traditional cutesy witch’s familiar, but her presence also brings out unthinking prejudice in otherwise heroic characters. Noxohit is a force of evil but one that’s enabled by the darker impulses of humanity, which, in turn, complicates Lilly’s goals. Lilly’s abandonment issues are also rarely far from the fore. This all lends a murky quality to the storytelling that feels almost like hesitancy; however, many readers will find this more rewarding than pure escapism.

A thoughtful examination of self-doubt and self-worth in a fantasy framework.