RED CITY

Two children are scouted as promising prospects for opposing magical syndicates in Lu’s urban fantasy.

Samantha Lang is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant working around the clock to make ends meet in Angel City, California. Her classmate Ari, a boy from Gujarat, India, seems to be the only person who really sees her. They pass each other notes, sharing their feelings but not the specifics of their lives. When Sam’s mother loses her job, Sam is so desperate that she seeks out the fabulously wealthy Diamond Taylor, a local celebrity who has a reputation for making things happen. Sam isn’t sure what to ask for, but it certainly isn’t what she gets: When she’s discovered following Diamond’s entourage out of a fancy theater, she finds herself initiated into the world of alchemy. As it turns out, there’s a secret society of people who are able to tap into the power of their own souls to transmute one substance into another. The popular drug called sand, which is known for making people the best version of themselves, is secretly a product of alchemy. Sand is worth so much money that syndicates—organized groups of alchemists—are in deep competition with each other to produce it. As Sam grows up, so do tensions between Diamond’s syndicate, Grand Central, and its main rival, Lumines. Years after their time passing notes in school, Sam and Ari discover that they have both been trained as alchemists, and they are on opposite sides of the upcoming war between Grand Central and Lumines. Lu’s magical system of alchemy is straightforward and clever—for example, a person can fight by transmuting a piece of a table into a knife, and they can hurt an enemy by transmuting the water in their body into vapor. But even more than the inventive action sequences, Lu beautifully depicts Sam and Ari’s experiences as outsiders in the world of wealth and privilege. Ari as an immigrant, and Sam as the daughter of an immigrant, both have a lot to lose, and their precarity is weaponized against them as they are weaponized against each other.

Both heartbreaking and action-packed: an immense achievement.