The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

"The Marvellers deserves the highest compliment I can give a book: I want to live in this world." --Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling-author

An instant New York Times and #1 Indie Bestseller!

"A marvelous gift of a novel! Clayton has created a world that readers won't want to leave." --Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Hate U Give

Dhonielle Clayton makes her middle-grade debut with a fantasy adventure set in a global magic school in the sky.

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts, like brewing Indian spice elixirs and bartering with pesky Irish pixies.

Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn't easy--some Marvellers mistrust her magic, which they deem "bad and unnatural." But eventually, she finds friends in elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit, a girl who hates magic, and Jason, a boy with a fondness for magical creatures.

When a dangerous criminal known as the Ace of Anarchy escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror's aid, tensions grow in the Marvellian world and Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family's name and track down her mentor before it's too late.

Dhonielle Clayton is a Maryland native who grew up in the Washington, DC suburbs. She graduated from Hollins University with a MA in children's literature and the New School with an MFA in children's writing. She spent several years as a secondary school teacher. Clayton is a former librarian and the cofounder of Cake Literary, a creative kitchen that creates sumptuous, diverse literary treats for middle grade, young adult, and women's literature readers.