Readcommendations

By Zoraida Córdova
Reviewed by SA

I just finished reading what must be the best YA novel I have read in ages – possibly, ever, but I know I say that I lot and I don’t want to diminish the amazingness of this novel – and I just could not wait another second to tell you about it. Mark your calendars for September 6th, because Labyrinth Lost is coming out and you have to read it right away.

Summary

Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can’t trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland…

Where to start with this novel? Alex is a young woman from Brooklyn who harbors incredible magic. But not only does she hate magic, she’s afraid of her own power, keeping it locked away for years until it bursts out in dangerous ways. While the rest of her family has incredible gifts which stem from love, Alex’s power seems raw and dangerous, and she knows she has to get rid of it. When she accidentally banishes her entire family to another dimension, her power might be the only thing that can get them back.

It’s a novel about family, about growth, about love. About how you don’t know how much you truly love something or someone until it’s gone. It’s a quest, an adventure, a modern day take on a story you would hear while sitting next to the fire, as your grandmother tells you about powerful young women and magic. It’s an instant classic.

The worldbuilding here is exquisite. The author does an incredible job of creating this universe and feeding us information without lugging us down with exposition. It’s a masterful example of “show, don’t tell” at work. She crafts a beautiful world of magic and a rich culture based on latin witch magic, with brujas and brujos, Deos and demons.

The characters themselves have such depth and complexity to them. Alex is not some whiny girl who doesn’t want her powers: she’s got valid reason to fear what she can do, and is able to grow into someone not to be trifled with. Nova is mysterious and intriguing, hiding secrets which slowly trickle out. And Rishi is just incredible, she’s a person I would love to have in my life. Not to mention Rose and Lula, Alex’s sisters, who are banished to Los Lagos: we learn so much about them int he first chapters that we feel attached, and we urge Alex to hurry up and rescue them already.

One of the best parts is something which might spoil a bit of the novel, so if you don’t want that, skip this paragraph. But something I noticed early on is how everyone was into Nova, and I realized that Alex wasn’t saying anything about his attractiveness or anything. It seemed logical for him to be the love interest, but I felt no chemistry and was getting worried about where we were headed. And then Rishi returns to the plot, and I start thinking just how great there are together. One thing leads to another, and now I’m sitting here gleefully giggling and happy. Heck yes!

All in all, I just want to say how great this novel is. I thought it was a standalone, the way the story wraps up nicely and felt so perfect, but I’m excited to see it’s marked as Book 1 on goodreads, which means there’s more to come! So if you want magic and adventure, make sure you read Labyrinth lost.

Our September 6th by Sourcebooks Fire.