Worse still, evidence mounts that the evil plaguing East Row is the same one that lurks in Ghizon - an evil that will stop at nothing until it has stolen everything from her and everyone she loves. And her sister, Tasha, is in danger of falling sway to the very forces that claimed their mother’s life. Miserable and desperate to see her sister on the anniversary of their mother’s death, Rue breaks Ghizon’s sacred Do Not Leave Law and returns to Houston, only to discover that Black kids are being forced into crime and violence. Rue is the only half-god, half-human there, where leaders protect their magical powers at all costs and thrive on human suffering. Rue’s taken from her neighborhood by the father she never knew, forced to leave her little sister behind, and whisked away to Ghizon - a hidden island of magic wielders. But when her mother is shot dead on her doorstep, life for her and her younger sister changes forever.

“Make a way out of no way” is just the way of life for Rue.

Her highly acclaimed debut novel, published by Denene Millner Books, a Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers imprint, hits bookshelves on Jan. The interviews have been transcribed and lightly edited for length and clarity.)įor this week’s installment of our Author Umbrella series, I interviewed J. ( Editor’s note: NonDoc’s Author Umbrella interviews up-and-coming writers, particularly authors of color, authors of disability and LGBTQ+ authors.

Wings of ebony book 2