JED GREENLEAF

In an alternate England in 1736, an orphan foundling learns he has magical powers.

In the middle of taking a beating from cruel Sam Gigglemug, the bullied, constantly ill orphan Jed is shocked when his skin becomes tough and impenetrable, like “the bark of his favorite oak tree.” Some weeks later, Madame Stump, an enormous, muscular woman, appears. She clouts him about the ear with her cane until his protective, barklike skin reappears; satisfied, she announces that she’s taking him to live at Yggdrasil House. Apparently Jed is to be recruited into the Guild of Leaf, whose members practice plant magick as one of the six magickal guilds of Grand Albion. Leaf is diminished and weak, like the guilds Feather, Bone, and Claw; only Fire and Iron ever win the annual contest to choose Albion’s prime minister. Lord Cromwell, the current prime minister, is the master of Iron. Jed surprises everyone with his unexpected levels of Leaf magick—and when he accidentally discovers the wicked secret of Fire and Iron, he needs both magickal and mundane allies to save his new family. Jed’s tale, which jumps between expected story beats, shortchanges the less exciting aspects of character and plot development, but once he’s in constant danger, the prose hits its stride. Most characters are cued white, and many, both villains and heroes, are portrayed with disabilities or physical differences that Jed sometimes perceives as grotesque.

A slow start builds up to an excitingly perilous race against time.