Mora captures the diverse and richly developed world around Josephine—a red-haired girl, who’s “pale as bone” and cued neurodivergent— through lush prose. . . . This fast-paced, romantic, abundantly queer, historical fantasy explores the intertwined pain, fear, joy, and beauty of self-discovery in defiance of oppression from an authoritarian society. Alluring and electrifying magic.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
An exciting story chock-full of world building, character development, and queer romance, executed with the perfect pacing. . . . Every aspect of the narrative and world is the perfect size for this shining self-contained novel.
—Booklist (starred review)
Balancing scenes both grim and heartwarming, Mora (The Immeasurable Depth of You) weaves a cathartic, hopeful tale of awakening to the realities of indoctrination, fighting against exploitative capitalism, and the redemptive power of human connection.
—Publishers Weekly
With immersive worldbuilding and romance, this is everything to love about YA, with refreshing queer updates to traditional tropes. . . . It is a solid book to display alongside The Hunger Games as a next read.
—School Library Journal
This successful poly love story with an inventive anti-capitalist worldview will find an audience with progressive steampunk fans.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
While the dystopian setting and perilous plot command attention, the novel’s heart lies with the romantic and queerplatonic relationships that develop among Josephine, Ezra and Julian. While the outlook on their lives often feels grim, the trio’s dynamic is layered with wit, adorably awkward moments and romantic tension. A Wild Radiance is an exceptional journey through expressions of queer identity and a celebration of challenging systems of authority.
—BookPage
Furiously tender and radically hopeful, A Wild Radiance is the book all of us need right now. It’s a book for a bad world, which helps us imagine a better one-and begin the work of building it for one another. I just adored it.
—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Everlasting
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