Travel to 1926 Shanghai in this bewitching Romeo and Juliet retelling. Eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai has claimed her rightful place as head of the Scarlet Gang, one of two powerful criminal organizations holding the city in their chaotic grip. Her rivals, the White Flowers, are led by Roma Montagov—Juliet’s first love and first betrayal. But when gangsters on both sides start mysteriously clawing their own throats out, people get nervous. What is causing this escalating madness, and why does it seem to be contagious? As the death toll rises, Roma and Juliette must set their dark history aside to figure out what’s going on. After all, there will be no city left for either of them to rule if everyone is dead. Join Generation Z debut author Chloe Gong and Queens of Innis Lear author Tessa Gratton as they discuss this atmospheric historical fantasy imbued with themes of gender, sexuality, and imperialism.
Chloe Gong is an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is double-majoring in English and International Relations. Born in Shanghai and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, she has been writing her own novels since she was 13 years old.
Tessa Gratton is the author of The Queens of Innis Lear and Lady Hotspur, as well as several YA series and short stories which have been translated into twenty-two languages. Her most recent YA novels are Strange Grace and Night Shine. Though she has lived all over the world, she currently lives alongside the Kansas prairie with her wife. She is the associate director of Madcap Retreats and worked as the lead writer for Serial Box Publishing’s project Tremontaine.
Ages 13 and up
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