On Sale: 09/25/2018
ISBN: 9781250153906
384 Pages, Ages 14-18
A Blade So Black delivers an irresistible urban fantasy retelling of Alice in Wonderland . . . but it’s not the Wonderland you remember.
The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life.
Now she’s trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.
Life in real-world Atlanta isn’t always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice’s handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before.
And she’ll need to use everything she’s learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally.
In her debut, L.L. McKinney delivers an action-packed twist on an old classic, full of romance and otherworldly intrigue.
A Blade So Black
“With memorable characters and page turning thrills, A Blade So Black is the fantasy book I’ve been waiting for my whole life. Alice is Black Girl Magic personified”
ANGIE THOMAS #1 New York Times – bestselling author of The Hate u Give
“Wholly original and absolutely thrilling–A Blade So Black kicks so much (looking gl)ass.” – HEIDI HEILIG – author of The Girl From Everywhere
“I loved the ‘our world’ framing and the ‘other world’ adventure so deeply. They were at such odds, but the overall affect was just chefkiss.gif perfect.”
E.K. JOHNSTON #1 New York Times – bestselling author of Star Wars: Ahsoka and A Thousand Nights
“A thrilling, timely novel that ensures readers will be curiouser for a sequel.” – Kirkus Review
“An explosive, kickass debut … the Alice in Wonderland retelling the world has always needed.” – Starred Booklist Review
“With a modern flair, a rich backstory, and just enough emotional heft, this particular looking glass will have readers eagerly falling through it.” – Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“McKinney has infused this urban contemporary retelling of Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sensibility and ‘Black Girl Magic.'” – School Library Journal
“A dark, thrilling fantasy-meets-contemporary story with a kickass heroine.” – Bustle
“A Blade So Black is a novel that roars mightily in the face of all those Wonderland tales that have come before. L.L. McKinney is on her way to someplace special with this debut; get onboard now.” – Locus Magazine
“This really is Lewis Carroll by way of Buffy, and it makes for a fun, gritty urban fantasy… will set the new standard for teen readers.” – NPR