Welcome to Hopeless, Maine. It is a place cut off from the rest of the world and lost in time. Strange things swim in the sea surrounding the island. Things even stranger float in the air and observe the lives of the island inhabitants, who may in fact be the strangest creatures of all. Into this setting comes Salamandra, a child who is not a child, and a user of great magic who is not a witch. (She insists on this distinction.) In this first volume, Salamandra comes of age and finds her way through the new complexities of friendship while coming to terms with her powers and origins. For lovers of the gothic, nearly every trope is explored and turned on its head. For lovers of creatures, there are many. For those who want their magic real and complex, this is the story for you. Don’t stroll the shoreline after dark unaccompanied and mind the tentacles!