The Storyteller by Chee, Traci;

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Chapter One
Fine as Gossamer, Hard as Iron
 
Sefia sat up in the shadows of the sick bay, startled out of some half-remembered dream.
 
The ship rocked and plunged beneath her, making the jars of ointment and bottles of tonic rattle on their shelves. Outside, rain spattered the portholes, blurring her view of the waves, high as rolling hills.
 
A storm. They must have come upon it in the night.
 
Sefia shivered, hugging her knees to her chest. In the four days since she'd returned to the Current with Archer, she'd had the same dream again and again. She was back in the house on the hill, and ink was seeping no, flooding from the secret room in the basement where her parents had kept the Book, the dark waves reaching across the floor to grasp them by the ankles and crawl up their calves. In the dream, Lon and Mareah scooped her up. In the dream, they shoved her out the door. But they were always too slow to save themselves, always too slow to escape the growing pool of ink that drew them, screaming, into its black depths.
 
Destiny. Her parents had been destined to die young, their futures recorded in the Book with everything that had ever been or would ever be, from the flicker of a mayfly's wings to the life spans of the stars overhead.
 
Somewhere in the Book was the passage where her mother got sick.
 
Somewhere were the paragraphs that described her father being tortured.
 
It had been written, so it had come to pass.
 
But they'd fought it. They'd betrayed the Guard, the secret society of readers to which they'd sworn their undying allegiance. They'd stolen the Book, the Guard's most powerful weapon, to protect their daughter from her own future. They'd run.
 
They'd lost, in the end, but oh, how they'd fought.
 
As Sefia had to fight now. Fight and win, or she'd lose Archer to destiny too.
 
Beside her, he lay curled beneath the blankets, hair tousled, fingers twitching in his sleep. He always slept so little, his dreams haunted by memories of the people he'd killed.
 
He felt fractured, he'd told her. At all times, he was the same small-town boy he'd been before the Guard's impressors took him, and yet, at all times, he was an animal, he was a victim, he was a killer, he was loud as thunder, he was the boy from the legends, with a bloodlust that could not be slaked.
 
Lightning forked in the distance, pulsing like veins in the restless sky.
 
As if in response, Archer's body spasmed. He let out a wordless gasp.
 
Sefia shifted out of his way. "Archer. It's okay. You're safe."
 
His eyes opened. For a moment, he seemed to have trouble emerging from his dreams, seemed to have trouble recognizing where he was, who he was.
 
But the moment would pass. It always did. And then
 
The smile. It spread across his face like dawn racing over water his lips, his cheeks, his golden eyes. Every time, it was like he was seeing her for the first time, his expression full of such hope that she longed to see it again and again for the rest of her days.
 
For a second, the storm abated. For a second, the ship was still. For a second, Sefia's whole world was light and soft and warm.
 
"Sefia," he whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear.
 
She bent closer, drawn to him as a hummingbird is drawn to a flower, her mouth gently landing on his.
He leaned into her kiss, responding to her lips and wandering hands as if her very touch was magic, making him moan and arch and yearn for more.
 
He laced his fingers in her hair, like he needed to be closer to her, like he couldn't get enough of her, but as he tried to sit up, he let out a sudden hiss of pa

Praise for The Storyteller:

With an assurance that equals her sorcerer protagonist's, Chee constantly interrogates her central question: "who controls the story." At one point hers reaches the high-fantasy equivalent of The Monster at the End of This Book (though with significantly more elegance) Thoroughly immersive, thoroughly satisfying. Kirkus, starred review

In this richly realized novel, Chee has masterfully converged all of her characters into one final confrontation as Chee pulls out all the stops to beautifully obliterate her readers' hearts. Booklist, starred review

This is a fast-paced adventure with fully developed characters that explores memory and the power of the written word [A] beautiful love story at its core. School Library Journal, starred review 


Praise for The Speaker:

"Filled with even more magic and intrigue than its predecessor, this is a gripping follow-upthat will leave readers speculating and wanting more." Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 "Strategically written with elements from the previous volume, this entry is rich with twists and turns that will leave readers in constant shock while reminding them that there are no coincidences in this narrative." School Library Journal, starred review 

"Fans will be knocking down the door to read this exciting sequel." Booklist 

Chee has once again created an unforgettable story. Filled with secrets and surprises, this fast-paced storyline draws readers in and keeps them on their toes. VOYA


Praise for The Reader:

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2016
Finalist for the 2016 Kirkus Prize
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year 2016 
An NPR Best Book of the Year 2016 

I was spellbound from the first page. An utterly transportive tale of swashbucklers and sharpshooters, masterfully written. Traci Chee has penned a beautiful novel about the power of story, complete with a fantastic cast of characters and an expertly rendered fantasy landscape. This is a book you will not soon forget. Renée Ahdieh,