Red City

Magic and machinations abound in bestselling YA author Lu’s vibrant adult debut (after Icon and Inferno), the first in her New Alchemists series. In the 1980s, a pair of alchemists succeeded in creating the Philosopher’s Stone and distilled it into a powerful drug called sand, which “enhances everything about who you are.” The use of this performance-enhancing drug underpinned the creative tech boom of the decades that followed and led to the development of fabulously wealthy, fiercely competitive, often criminal, and deeply secretive alchemical guilds. In present-day Angel City, two childhood friends keep parallel secrets: Ari was recruited away from his family in India to train with the powerful Lumines syndicate as a master of charisma; Sam’s search for a solution to her single mom’s financial desperation led her to discover an aptitude for transformations and become a star student within rival syndicate Grand Central. Lu puts these two on a collision course as they both rise in the ranks of their respective organizations, whose violence against each other simultaneously ramps up. Lu builds a rich alternate present that pulls tropes from both magic school and crime drama literary traditions to tell an addictive double “chosen one” story that successfully keeps readers’ sympathies divided. It’s truly enthralling. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary. (Oct.)