Gathering Frost

Davis’s debut, first in the Once Upon a Curse series, combines the allure and imagination of a fairy tale with the gritty realities of a modern apocalyptic dystopia. Jade was just a girl, still learning to ride a bike, when an earthquake changed her world. Now a subject of the icy Queen Deirdre’s kingdom in what was once New York City, Jade serves as the only female member of the Black Heart, responsible for protecting the kingdom against rebel forces. She barely remembers her past or the warmth of emotion until she meets a rebel boy—possibly the Queen’s long-lost son—amid the rubble of the city. So sets in motion a chain of events that leaves Jade with a choice between her life and the lives of those she loves. Jade’s introspection is, at times, excessive, leaving little room for the building of bonds with other characters. However, Davis writes with confidence and poise, and the story’s many twists and turns stave off predictability and allow readers to become immersed in a starkly magical world filled with last hopes. Ages 14–up. (BookLife)