21 exciting YA book releases we can’t wait to read in Fall 2021
By Lacy Baugher
Fall 2021 release: Bright Ruined Things – Samantha Cohoe
The latest novel from Samantha Cohoe, author of last year’s A Golden Fury, is a loose retelling of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, with a 1920s twist.
Bright Ruined Things follows the story of Mae, born on an island of powerful magic to a servant of the Prosper family, who themselves control its powerful spirits. In the wake of her father’s death, Mae is now little more than a charity case. She’s never left the island before and she longs to truly belong to the family that’s taken her in for all these years. Part of it has to do with her intense feelings for Miles, the unoffiical Prosper family member she’s been in love with for years, but Mae also desperately wants magic of her own.
The story is set over the course of a single day, during the annual celebration of Lord Prosper’s harnessing of the island’s magic, and Mae’s determined to go after what she’s always wanted. But when spirits start dying, she’ll question everything she knows about her world.
The official synopsis describes the story in greater detail.
"The only life Mae has ever known is on the island, living on the charity of the wealthy Prosper family who control the island’s magic and its spirits. Mae longs for magic of her own and to have a place among the Prosper family, where her best friend, Coco, will see her as an equal, and her crush, Miles, will finally see her. But tonight is First Night, when the Prospers and their high-society friends celebrate the night Lord Prosper first harnessed the island’s magic and started producing aether – a magical fuel source that has revolutionized the world. With everyone returning to the island, Mae finally has the chance to go after what she’s always wanted. When the spirits start inexplicably dying, Mae realizes that things aren’t what they seem. And Ivo, the reclusive, mysterious heir to the Prosper magic, may hold all the answers – including a secret about Mae’s past. As Mae and her friends unravel the mysteries of the island, and the Prospers’ magic, Mae starts to question the truth of what her world was built on."
Bright Ruined Things is available on October 26.