by Dhonielle Clayton (Author) Khadijah Khatib (Illustrator)
Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts, like brewing Indian spice elixirs and bartering with pesky Irish pixies.
Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn’t easy―some Marvellers mistrust her magic, which they deem “bad and unnatural.” But eventually, she finds friends in elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit, a girl who hates magic, and Jason, a boy with a fondness for magical creatures.
When a dangerous criminal known as the Ace of Anarchy escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror’s aid, tensions grow in the Marvellian world and Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family’s name and track down her mentor before it’s too late.
"A marvelous gift of a novel! With fantastical twists at every turn, Clayton has created a world that readers won't want to leave.” ―Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Hate U Give and Concrete Rose
WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online.
In Clayton's (The Rumor Game) atmospherically told middle grade debut, Ella Durand, a Black 11-year-old from New Orleans, is the first Conjuror to enroll at the elite Arcanum Training Institute for Marvelous and Uncanny Endeavors. Marvellers, who live in the sky and are "born with marvels, light inside them that allowed them to perform magical feats," have long considered their powers superior to those of Conjurors, keepers of the Underworld "born with a deep twilight inside them." Though Ella faces many hurdles as the Academy's first Conjuror trainee, she is determined to succeed and make her family--her politician father and Conjurer mother and grandmother--proud. After she boards a sky-ferry and dons her white Marvellian mantle, though, an already difficult cultural adjustment becomes even more troublesome when a notorious Marvellian criminal breaks free from an Underworld prison. As bullying and microaggressions from students and faculty worsen, and a beloved teacher goes missing, Ella and friends Brigit and Jason seek to clear Ella's reputation--and the reputations of Conjure folk everywhere. Clayton imaginatively combines myriad global cultural traditions with an intersectionally inclusive, fantastical adventure that examines themes of acceptance, prejudice, and familial responsibility. Ages 8-12. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Literary, in association with Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (May)
Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission."The Marvellers deserves the highest compliment I can give a book: I want to live in this world. You can stop looking at admissions brochures for all those other schools of magic. The Arcanum Training Institute for Marvelous and Uncanny Endeavors is definitely where you want to apply." —#1 New York Times bestselling-author Rick Riordan
"Immersive, inclusive, and downright fantastical, this magical boarding school tale is going to shake up the fantasy landscape. Get ready!" —Nerdist "A gorgeous world filled with enchanting characters, The Marvellers will dazzle readers from beginning to end!"—Kwame Mbalia, New York Times-bestselling author of Tristan Strong series "A marvelous gift of a novel! With fantastical twists at every turn, Clayton has created a world that readers won't want to leave. The Marvellers is magical!" —Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Hate U Give and Concrete Rose