Author/illustrator ND Stevenson (Nimona) creates his first middle-grade fantasy with Scarlet Morning, a suspenseful and exceptionally magical illustrated novel that follows two orphans determined to change--and save--a world destroyed by adults.
Once, the world wasn't broken: "the sky was blue, and the spray of the sea wouldn't burn your flesh." At that time, the people of Dickerson's Sea were ruled by a beloved Queen. But the "blackhearted" Scarlet Morning killed the queen and brought a dreadful storm that destroyed the sea, the birds, and memory itself. Orphans Viola and Wilmur never knew this world; they only know life with Hestur, their caretaker, on the island of Caveat in Dickerson's Sea.
Stevenson delivers a story full of twists and original genre-blending interpretations of magic in Scarlet Morning. Laced with horror and humor, the story perfectly balances the whiplash of a traditional high fantasy pirate adventure set in a terrifying world reshaped by adults. More than 100 black-and-white illustrations in Stevenson's signature style set tone and add nuance to the unfolding mysteries. --Nicole Brinkley, bookseller and writer