Rebel Skies (Rebel Skies #1)

Steampunk meets fantasy in this thrilling debut from Sei Lin, inspired by Japanese history and culture. Teenage Kurara—who is a Crafter, a person born with the rare ability to bring origami to life—and her childhood friend Haru work as servants aboard the Midori, an airborne way station floating over the Mikoshiman Empire. When the Midori is attacked by a shikigami—or paper brought to life—in the form of a dragon, Kurara and Haru team up with stoic and sharp Himura, a fellow Crafter, to survive. But Kurara loses sight of Haru in their perilous escape. Her only chance to save him is to hunt shikigami for Princess Tsukimi as one of her elite Crafters. As Kurara trains with Himura and his ragtag crew, she delves deeper into the secrets of the empire, questions what the princess truly wants with the shikigami, and struggles to determine where her loyalties and magical responsibility lie. Sei Lin expertly weaves themes of longing, grief, and courage among visceral worldbuilding, which is conveyed via intricately detailed prose. Distinctly rendered characters debate nuanced questions of morality against a backdrop of white-knuckle action sequences in this suspenseful series opener. Characters cue as being of East Asian descent. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)