Unseelie (Unseelie #1)

Seventeen-year-old twin sisters search for truth and treasure in Housman’s beguiling debut, a fae-inspired fantasy series opener. Autistic changeling Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove and her identical twin sister Isolde, who both have olive skin, have survived on the streets by grifting and stealing ever since they were forced to leave home for their parents’ safety (“They aren’t safe when I’m around,” Seelie says). While robbing Wildline Manor, home to a family of powerful enchanters, Seelie finds a magical compass that seeps into her skin as a tattoo, pointing the way to a mysterious treasure. The sisters reluctantly team up with shape-shifter Raze and healer Olani to seek out and split the treasure, while the compass’s owner relentlessly pursues them. As their journey takes them across a danger-filled land and through the realms of Faerie, the quartet slowly bonds, and Seelie learns to wield the magic she’s always tried to suppress while managing heightening anxiety surrounding increasingly dangerous encounters. Housman spins an imaginative tale that’s part heist and part quest, set against a fanciful backdrop of magic and mystery peopled by characters whose genuine chemistry and varyingly antagonistic personalities conjure a sweet found-family dynamic. Ages 13–up. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Literary. (Jan.)