I was halfway through Magonia when the thought crossed my mind: how did I land a job reading about blue bird-people living in the sky?!

In the aforementioned book, Aza Ray reaching her sixteenth birthday will be a medical miracle. For Aza, being alive at sixteen means having a party, inviting everyone she knows (except the people she doesn’t like), wearing a pink dress and kissing a cute boy (but this only happens in movies). There are a few things standing in her way: Aza is terminally ill with a disease named after her, she has hallucinations of a world in the sky and her best friend spends most of his time in an alligator costume. She also dies (do not despair, this is the beginning of her story) and finds herself in another world (yes, of blue bird‑people).

Magonia is as funny as it is multi-faceted, compelling and intelligent. Headley’s latest is a rom-com, a fantasy and a thriller. I felt like a slightly crazed detective reading Magonia. Pick it up – try to solve the mysteries of Magonia for yourself. Ages 13 and up.

Savannah Indigo