UNENDING

Two sisters learn about themselves and navigate a shifting sibling dynamic during a realms-spanning quest to save the world in this duology closer.

Seelie and Isolde are still in the thick of the action, planning their escape from the ambitious shape-shifter, Leira Wildfall, who captured them and their companions, Raze and Olani, at the close of the first book. Seelie continues to conceal both the presence of Gossamer (the faerie she’s trapped within herself) and the shocking truth of Isolde’s changeling identity. Romantic sparks fly for both Latine-presenting sisters—Seelie with Raze, who reads white, and Isolde with Olani, who’s cued Black. The narration alternates between the girls’ first-person perspectives. In Isolde’s point-of-view chapters, she ponders her role in the wake of her sister’s newfound power and independence, and readers gain fresh insights into her dynamic inner life. As Housman shares in the author’s note, Isolde’s viewpoint is inspired in part by her own sister’s experiences with ADHD, a form of neurodivergence that’s often underdiagnosed in women. Isolde has always been, unlike Seelie, “the normal child. The human child,” but with Seelie’s revelations, Isolde’s experiences are thrown into relief in a new and intriguing way. The race to protect the three realms from Leira’s and Gossamer's power-hungry machinations is strongly paced, with twists, turns, and character-driven revelations sustaining readers' interest. The novel effectively weaves together myriad plot threads and is satisfyingly bittersweet.

An energetic, sprawling story of sisterly love and the magic of our unique minds.