Mist

In 1880 London, 13-year-old orphan Clay and his friends Nucky and Tod—collectively known as the Terrors of Blackfriar Bridge—get by as mud larks, searching the grimy banks of the Thames for anything worth reselling. The trio also defend their territory from other mud larks and avoid being caught by men from local factories, who kidnap orphaned youths to work at their facilities. When Smith & Sparrow’s Amazing Circus comes to town, advertising “the last living wolf in the United Kingdom,” Clay is intrigued, and a chance encounter with Olivia, the circus fortune teller’s granddaughter, enables him to see the fearsome creature up close. Learning that the wolf, which Clay has named Mist, will be killed if it can’t be tamed, Clay decides to free it—but first, he must gain Mist’s trust. Though a loosely plotted third act diminishes gratification, this gritty adventure from Palazzesi (The Adventures of Young Lupin), populated by numerous uniquely rendered characters, captures the high-adrenaline spirit and danger of living by one’s wits, especially as Clay works to redefine his priorities and baseline for happiness while combatting financial precarity. Most characters cue as white; Olivia reads as having Romani heritage. Ages 9–12. (Sept.)