Speculation - Hardcover

Nisi Shawl

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1620149591 ISBN 13: 9781620149591

Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 2023

Synopsis

A wonderful middle-grade fantasy debut about Black families, family history, family curses ... and a really marvelous pair of spectacles.

After Winna's little sister breaks her glasses, her grandfather gives her an old-timey pair of spectacles that belonged to her great-aunt Estelle. The specs are silver and perfectly circular, with tiny stars on the bridge and earpieces that curl all the way around her ears.

Best of all, they're magic.

Because when Winna makes a wish beginning with the words "What if"--that is, when she speculates--the spectacles grant it. Winna wishes she could see ghosts ... and soon she meets not only the real Estelle, but Estelle's mother, Winona. Nearly a century before, Winona escaped from slavery and ran north with her baby, Key. But Key was stolen from her under mysterious circumstances, and now Estelle and Winona have a mission for Winna: Find Key.

He's still alive. He doesn't know the whole truth. And unless Winna can solve the mystery and bring him home, a powerful curse called the Burden will smother out their family's lives--and Winna's mom could be its next victim.

This beautifully written historical fantasy by an award-winning science fiction author offers new twists and turns in every chapter and will leave you looking at your own family's roots with new eyes.

About this title

About the Author

Nisi Shawl is a multiple-award-winning writer and editor. Their novel Everfair was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the short story collection Filter House won the James Tiptree Jr. Award. They cofounded the Carl Brandon Society to help give people of color greater visibility in the science fiction and fantasy worlds, and their "Writing the Other" workshops and accompanying book (cocreated with Cynthia Ward and K. Tempest Bradford) have taught thousands of writers new ways of thinking about diversity and representation within fiction.

Nisi received the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Speculation is their first novel for young readers. Born near Kalamazoo, Michigan, Nisi now lives near Seattle. Find them online at nisishawl.com and on Twitter at @nisishawl.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From Chapter One:

Winna walked down the steps and crouched at the bottom. The round pebbles looked pretty, sparkling and polished by the rain. Some she could almost see through, like watery milk. Others had tiny flecks of gold mixed with pink and black.

She'd never noticed before how beautiful a regular old driveway could be. It must be the glasses, she decided. "What if they're magic?" she wondered out loud. "What if these are magic spectacles I'm wearing?"

There was a sort of shimmer in the corner of her eye. It spread so quickly she didn't have time to be afraid. It was all colors, rainbows flying off the edges of everything, as if diamonds had broken apart. As if the whole world was split into a hundred images of itself, each shining brighter than the last. Then the shimmer was gone.

Looking back, Winna realized that this was when the adventure began: that afternoon, in that very moment, when she squatted examining the cool, smooth stones, asking herself what made such ordinary things so great. Wondering out loud if magic had come at last into her life. That was when she was caught up in Speculation.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1620149591
• ISBN 13: 9781620149591
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240