The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

“Nyeeeeowm! Zzzzzrack!” For a moment, Brendy absently imitated the sound effects from Morgus. He had no idea what he could do to silence her without getting into trouble. “Little bit, you be sorry you don’t shut your mouth,” Perry threatened. “I’m sorry you luuuuuuuvs Peaches like she yo wiiiiiiiiife!”

You don’t want me talkin’ like her because it remind you of the paaaaaain in yo heaaaaaaaaart!” “You in a mood ’cause you ain’t seen Peaches in a week. “Oh, I know, Perry-berry-derry-larry.” Brendy stuck her tongue out at him. “Daddy hears you, he’ll get you good.” Then, “I don’t always have to laugh just because something’s funny.” From here, Perry could hear his parents and their friends gabbing on the front porch as they sipped sweet tea and played dominoes. The unkempt, hollow-eyed scientist was trying to convince a gray-haired opera singer to stick his head into a machine that would allow Morgus to amputate the singer’s voice with a flip of the switch. Perry and his little sister, Brendy, sat cross-legged on the living room floor watching Morgus the Magnificent on the TV.

Tomorrow was the last day of school, and he’d be free to roam the neighborhood soon enough… But it wouldn’t be soon enough. Perry Graves tried not to think about summer’s arrival-the heat devils hovering, breathless, over the blacktop as if waiting for something to happen-or even about the city streets. But a storm is brewing, and the Haint of All Haints is awake. Unwilling to watch his home be destroyed, Perry will sacrifice everything to save it. Nine songs of power have escaped from the piano that maintains the city’s beat, and without them, Nola will fail. So when the city’s Great Magician starts appearing in odd places and essential songs are forgotten, Perry knows trouble is afoot.

Perry knows Nola’s rhythm as intimately as his own heartbeat. To those from Away, Nola might seem strange. A place of sky trolleys and dead cabs, where haints dance the night away and Wise Women help keep the order. One of the Best Fantasy Books of 2022: New York Times Oprah Daily Vulture Gizmodo Boston Public LibraryĪ fun and fantastical love letter to New Orleans unfolds when a battle for the city's soul brews between two young mages, a vengeful wraith, and one powerful song in this wildly imaginative debut. 'Magical, lyrical, gritty, otherworldly…hype like Bayou Classic in the 90s.'-P. 'A wild and wonderful debut, teeming with music, family and art.'- New York Times 'Funny, wild, witty, and profound.”―Victor LaValle

The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings