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Young Adult Fiction General

Spell Starter (A Caster Novel)

by (author) Elsie Chapman

Publisher
Scholastic Inc
Initial publish date
Oct 2020
Category
General, Dystopian, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781338589511
    Publish Date
    Oct 2020
    List Price
    $25.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781338589528
    Publish Date
    Oct 2020
    List Price
    $20.99

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Where to buy it

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 12 to 18
  • Grade: 7 to 12

Description

The Sting meets Fight Club in this magical, action-packed sequel to Caster by Elsie Chapman.

 

Every spell cast needs a starter.Aza Wu now has magic back. But like all things in her life, it has come at a great cost. After winning the Tournament of Casters, Aza is able to pay off her parents' debt to Saint Willow. But the price of the gathered spell she used to strip Finch of his magic has put her permanently in the employ of the gang leader. And the magic that has been returned to her is not her own.Aza is forced to use this magic, stolen and unpredictable, to do Saint Willow's dirty work. But the gang leader is ambitious and power-obsessed, and she always seems to have a larger plan. Aza knows that if Saint Willow can benefit, it doesn't matter who gets hurt along the way.Forced into a dangerous new situation, Aza will have to reckon with the choices she's made and the unstable magic she wields. If she can find a way out of Saint Willow's hold, she just might survive. That is, if her casting doesn't finally consume her.

About the author

Elsie Chapman grew up in Prince George, Canada, and has a degree in English literature from the University of British Columbia. She is the author of the YA novels Dualed, Divided, and Along the Indigo, the middle grade novel All the Ways Home, and the coeditor of A Thousand Beginnings and Endings and Hungry Hearts. She currently lives in Tokyo, Japan, with her family. You can visit her online at ElsieChapman.com.

Elsie Chapman's profile page

Awards

  • Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Caster:* "Chapman's constructed magic is a complex, balanced system that limits the characters to keep the narrative unpredictable; the battle scenes are creative and fast paced, and the high stakes that Aza faces in her personal life and during the tournament are anxiety-inducing in their believability. Information Aza uncovers about the secrets in her life are parsed out so that the plot never drags; readers will have a hard time putting this one down." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review* "Chapman has created compelling young adult novels before, but this is a cut above; the fully realized and atmospheric dystopia is crafted at a level not seen often. This stunning fantasy will fly off the shelves." -- Booklist, starred review"A dark and, at times, vicious and violent story of will and questionable honor." -- Kirkus Reviews

Other titles by

The Scroll of Chaos

by (author) Elsie Chapman

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

by (author) Ellen Oh, Elsie Chapman, Renée Ahdieh, Sona Charaipotra, Preeti Chhibber, Roshani Chokshi, Aliette de Bodard, Melissa de la Cruz, Julie Kagawa, Rahul Kanakia, Lori M. Lee, E.C. Myers, Cindy Pon, Aisha Saeed, Shveta Thakrar & Alyssa Wong

Caster

by (author) Elsie Chapman

Hungry Hearts

13 Tales of Food & Love

by (author) Elsie Chapman, Caroline Tung Richmond, Sandhya Menon, S.K. Ali, Rin Chupeco, Anna-Marie McLemore, Rebecca Roanhorse, Sara Farizan, Jay Coles, Adi Alsaid, Sangu Mandanna, Phoebe North & Karuna Riazi

All the Ways Home

by (author) Elsie Chapman

Shades Within Us

Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders

edited by Susan Forest & Lucas K. Law
by (author) Seanan McGuire, S.L. Huang, Vanessa Cardui, Elsie Chapman, Kate Heartfield, Tyler Keevil, Matthew Kressel, Rich Larson, Tonya Liburd, Karin Lowachee, Brent Nichols, Julie Nováková, Heather Osborne, Sarah Raughley, Alex Shvartsman, Amanda Sun, Jeremy Szal, Hayden Trenholm, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, Christie Yant & Alvaro Zinos-Amaro
introduction by Gillian Clinton & Eric Choi

Along the Indigo

by (author) Elsie Chapman

Where the Stars Rise

Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy

edited by Lucas K. Law & Derwin Mak
by (author) Fonda Lee, Rati Mehrotra, Anne Carly Abad, Deepak Bharathan, S.B. Divya, Joyce Chng, Miki Dare, Pamela Q. Fernandes, Calvin D. Jim, Minsoo Kang, Gabriela Lee, Karin Lowachee, E.C. Myers, Tony Pi, Angela Yuriko Smith, Priya Sridhar, Amanda Sun, Naru Dames Sundar, Jeremy Szal, Regina Kanyu Wang, Diana Xin, Melissa Yuan-Innes & Ruhan Zhao
translated by Shaoyan Hu
introduction by Elsie Chapman