The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass

Gr 9 Up–Eli is an agent of death, the creation of a witch named Circinae who formed her from rose thorns, glass, quartz, and human bone to do the bidding of the Coven and to consolidate her power. In this fantasy debut, Eli begins to question her roots and her identity as an assassin while coming to terms with her feelings for childhood friend Tav, a human whom she encounters on a mission and to whom she is instantly drawn. With Tav at her side, Eli challenges Circinae in her search for answers and must make the ultimate choice of where her allegiance lies. Jerreat-Poole brings readers on a wild ride with Eli as she grapples with her role as an assassin and travels between the City of Eyes and the City of Ghosts, the contemporary human world where she is concealed by her glamour. The novel is rich with diverse characters such as Tav, who is dark-skinned and nonbinary, and understands that “cops follow you like shadows and teachers and friends refuse to use their pronouns.”