Magonia

Maria Dahvana Headley's soaring YA debut is a fiercely intelligent, multilayered fantasy where Neil Gaiman's Stardust meets John Green's The Fault in Our Stars in a story about a girl caught between two worlds . . . two races . . . and two destinies.
Aza Ray Boyle is drowning in thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who's always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia.

Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—but as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war between Magonia and Earth is coming. In Aza's hands lies fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

Book Description
Aza Ray is drowning in thin air.

Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live.

All the doctors can do is give her drugs and hope they keep her alive. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of the medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who's always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. The sickness catches up with her.
Aza is lost to our world.

And found, by another.

Magonia.

Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power. And she can use it to change the world.

As she navigates her new life, Aza discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. In Aza's hands lies the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

Maria Dahvana Headley is a memoirist, novelist, and editor, most recently of the novel Queen of Kings and the New York Times bestselling anthology Unnatural Creatures (coeditor with Neil Gaiman). As the author of the work of short fiction "The Traditional," she has been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. She lives in Brooklyn with a seven-foot stuffed crocodile and a collection of star charts from the 1700s.

Maria Dahvana Headley is a firecracker: she’s whip smart with a heart, and she writes like a dream. — Neil Gaiman, bestselling author of The Graveyard Book and Coraline

“Magonia is magical. A high-flying, refreshing, and literally out-of-the-blue fantasy with great characters, emotional depth, and a unique fantasy world that I never saw coming.” — Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Red Queen

“Headley riffs like an improv comic… funny, furious, and vulnerable. The haunting conclusion leaves many issues unresolved, but the ferocious, intelligent power of Aza and Jason’s bond is completely affirmed. Sweeping, strange, and richly imagined, the novel is ideal for fans of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“With lush writing, memorable world building, and an array of peculiar characters, this is sure to thrill readers looking for a distinctive, imaginative tale in the vein of Laini Taylor and Neil Gaiman.” — Booklist

“The painful, sarcastic beauty of Aza’s interactions down below in the everyday world begs comparisons to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars.“ — Kirkus

“The book races to an epic confrontation that will leave readers thrilled… romance, danger, and world-building combine.” — School Library Journal

“The sweeping, lyrical language in both parts of the book is captivating, with haunting scenes woven from carefully chosen, sharply evocative descriptions.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Magonia hooked me from the first page. It has an amazing voice, brutal and hopeful both at once, and a beautiful, unique mythology. Wonderful.” — Django Wexler, author of the Shadow Campaigns and The Forbidden Library