Of Blood and Bone

October 1, 2018
Roberts’s fun follow-up to 2017’s Year One focuses on the training phase of mankind’s chosen savior, 13-year-old Fallon Swift. After most of the world’s population dies from a virus known as The Doom, people called Uncannys develop magical powers and separate into good and evil factions. Fallon’s mother, Lana, is told by a man named Mallick that Fallon is destined to train with him for two years, beginning on her 13th birthday, to prepare for her role. Fallon decides to leave her family and moves with Mallick to an undisclosed location to hone her magic and fighting skills. While this isn’t particularly new territory—a reluctant heroine butting heads with her square mentor, a series of quests to prove the heroine worthy, a meet-cute with a boy who will obviously play a greater role in her life—Roberts is a natural storyteller, and the narrative is consistently enjoyable. Fallon’s training culminates with her attempts to raise an army, and an opportunity for her to save her mother’s old pals and their kids in the colony of New Hope, which is targeted by evil Uncannys. Though it’s the middle book in a planned trilogy, this can be read on its own and will appeal to fans of fast-paced dystopian tales with a strong heroine. 1,000,000-copy announced first printing.

October 1, 2018
In this sequel to Roberts' apocalyptic Year One (2017), the world settles into its new normal after The Doom. The girl who will be The One reaches her 13th birthday, makes the choice to train with her magical mentor, and steps into her many gifts, then must find allies to prepare for the war to come.The Doom has killed billions, and the survivors have aligned themselves into different factions, with various priorities. Many have discovered magical abilities; many who don't have them hunt those who do. Governments have failed, electricity is scarce, industrial production is practically nonexistent, so in order to survive, people must produce or scavenge food and goods. Thirteen years later, New Hope is thriving, magicks and normals banding together for protection and community. Meanwhile, Fallon Swift, raised on a remote farm with her mother, stepfather, and three younger brothers, has learned the basics of survival but knows that when she turns 13, she's expected to leave with the mysterious Mallick and train for two years, preparing to step into her role as The One, destined to save the world. When the time comes, she goes with him into a mystical forest populated with elves and faeries, where she studies spells, trains with swords, and spars with ghostly figures in order to build her strength and abilities. On the way she finds allies of every variety, including three spirit animals who represent aspects of her powers and humanity that enhance her ability to lead. She also meets a shadowy figure in her dreams who becomes more real once she's able to travel across spaces in a flash. She realizes he's a son of New Hope and guesses that their destinies are tied closely together along with his twin sister's. Change is coming, and it's up to them to create a new, better world--or die trying. Roberts continues her apocalyptic Chronicles of The One with a mesmerizing follow-up that is bold and breathtaking. Focusing mainly on Fallon's rise, the plot offers details and vignettes that glimpse the horror and trauma of the past 15 years and introduces the characters who presumably will frame the future.This installment feels a bit like a rest between the trauma of The Doom and the war to come except for an explosive end battle; however, meeting the next generation and watching the heroine grow into her powers and leadership is enthralling.

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November 15, 2018

It's been years since the Doom: a mystical plague that not only killed much of society but released magic throughout the world. Technology and societies have failed, people are rebuilding and discovering how to live together despite their differences. Yet battles continue to rage and powerful gangs called Raiders and hunting zealots known as Purity Warriors make travel among populated areas difficult. However, Fallon Swift, a child ordained to be The One who would vanquish the darkness, knows her future begins on her 13th birthday. She will discover the reach of her powers and meet fairies, shifters, and other extraordinary creatures, as well as learn to fight and heal. Bringing back characters from the first book and adding others from the new generation, Roberts continues her series set in an extraordinary postapocalyptic future where magic and humans learn to coexist, and darkness and light continue the struggle. VERDICT The follow up to Year One takes a jump into the future, grabbing readers with epic world- and character-building.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2018
Ever since the virus Doom decimated most of the world's population more than a decade ago, the world has been waiting for someone to stop the madness. Now it seems fate has chosen Fallon Swift as its savior. On her thirteenth birthday, Fallon must leave her family?her stepfather, Simon; her mother, Lana; and her stepbrothers?behind and train with sorcerer Mallick to become The One: the person whose magical gifts can unite the forces of good left in the world to defeat the powers of darkness. So, no pressure on Fallon! With book two in her The One trilogy, following Year One (2017), Roberts successfully marshals her flair for crafting compelling characters and her skill at imaginative world building, on both a micro domestic scale and a macro dystopian global scale, to create a spellbinding story that will definitely delight her longtime fans as well as pique the interest of fantasy readers, who will want to see what she brings to their genre's literary table as she continues this exciting and relevant series. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: As always with Roberts, a massive print run, major marketing campaign, and enormous readership mean that no one needs otherworldly powers to predict that stocking this sure best-seller in multiples is the way to go.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)