Wild Ones

by Nafiza Azad

Genres: YA Fantasy; YA Romance

Synopsis

From William C. Morris Finalist Nafiza Azad comes a thrilling, feminist fantasy about a group of teenage girls endowed with special powers who must band together to save the life of the boy whose magic saved them all. We are the Wild Ones, and we will not be silenced. We are girls who have tasted the worst this world can offer. Our story begins with Paheli, who was once betrayed by her mother, sold to a man in exchange for a favor. When Paheli escaped, she ran headlong into Taraana—a boy with stars in his eyes, a boy as battered as she was. He tossed Paheli a box of stars before disappearing. With the stars, Paheli gained access to the Between, a place of pure magic and mystery. Now, Paheli collects girls like us, and we use our magic to travel the world, helping to save other girls from our pain, our scars. When Taraana reappears, he asks for our help. Dangerous magical forces are chasing him, and they will destroy him to get his powers. We will do everything to save him—if we can. For if Taraana is no longer safe and free, neither are the Wild Ones. And that...is a fate that we refuse to accept. Ever again.

Release date: August 3, 2021

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Print pages: 352

Sample

1. The Beginning, or How Paheli Became the First Wild One; With a Cameo by Taraana, the Boy Made of Stars.

An Introduction; Hold On to Your Hats.

We are the Wild Ones. We are made of whimsy and lemon.

We have the temerity to be not just women, but women of color. Women with melanin in our skin and voices in our throats. Voices that will not be vanquished. Not now, not ever. We will not be silenced.

Just in case it needs to be said, all you need to be a girl, to be a woman, is to decide you are one. Your gender is your decision.

There have been many of us over time and between time. We write glimpses of our stories, of the lives we led before we became wild, in a Book of Memories. We share some of our stories, some of its pages, interspersed within Paheli’s story.

Our lingua franca? Why, darlings, we speak all dialects of pain.

Paheli’s story is our story. We will give it shape, allow it reason, fashion it wings, and watch it fly.

Now. Are you ready? Take a deep breath. Let’s be wild.