The Library of Broken Worlds

by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Overview

A girl matches wits with a war god in this kaleidoscopic, thought-provoking tale of oppression and the cost of peace, where stories hide within other stories, and narrative has the power to heal — or to burn everything in its path — from World Fantasy Award–winning author Alaya Dawn Johnson.

A girl and a god, alone in communion ...

In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great peacekeeper of the three systems, a heinous secret lies buried — and Freida is the only one who can uncover it. As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library's ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique — and dangerous.

When Freida meets Joshua, a Tierran boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future.

With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives — if he doesn't destroy her first.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338290622
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/06/2023
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	515,953
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.50(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Alaya Dawn Johnson is the author of The Summer Prince — which received three starred reviews, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and was named a 2013 Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year — and Love Is the Drug, the 2014 Nebula Award winner for best young adult novel. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, most notably the title story in The Memory Librarian, in collaboration with Janelle Monáe. She lives in Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Library of Broken Worlds:

"Mysterious, sweeping, wholly original, and anchored by an extraordinary heroine as wily as she is vulnerable. Johnson has crafted a story so immersive it will leave you drunk with visions of strange worlds and new gods, so compelling you'll be happy to drown in this dizzying, bloody brew of technology, lore, and world-shaking conflict." —Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of Shadow & Bone

"An ambitious, multilayered, multidimensional exploration of power, selfhood, freedom, and love. Alaya Dawn Johnson writes with fluidity and precision about mind-bending ideas and gorgeously imagined worlds, but also with tactile specificity about food and ritual. This novel rewired my brain." —Malinda Lo, New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club

"One of the most haunting and lovely tales I've ever read. Modern epic poetry. Wow." —N. K. Jemisin, New York Times bestselling author of the Broken Earth trilogy

"Alaya Dawn Johnson immerses us in a genderqueer-friendly universe filled with space travel, gods, and AI that we want to cher for. Readers will be transported into a wholly unfamiliar and completely fascinating new spacetime." —Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author of The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred

Praise for The Summer Prince:

Longlisted for the National Book Award

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

* "Like leaping into cold water on a hot day, this original dystopian novel takes the breath away, refreshes, challenges, and leaves the reader shivering but yearning for another plunge." — Booklist, starred review

* "With its complicated history, founding myth, and political structure, Palmares Tres is compelling, as is the triple bond between June, Enki, and Gil as they challenge their world's injustices." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "An art project, a rebellion and a sacrifice make up this nuanced, original cyberpunk adventure... Luminous." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Praise for Love Is the Drug:

Nebula Award winner for best young adult novel

* “Utterly absorbing.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Equal parts character study and thriller, Love Is the Drug offers a gripping study of identity, sly social commentary, and a chilling glimpse of a dystopia that’s just around the corner.” —NPR

From the Publisher

2023-03-14
Freida, sent to kill AI war god Nameren who will likely kill her first, trades him a story instead: hers.

Found by the Head Librarian as a baby in the ever changing tunnels in the depths of the Library, most considered Freida a secondary AI, not quite human. She spent her childhood communing with the material gods, while some mortals and gods sought to love her, and others, to own her. When the Treaty peace between worlds, enforced by the Library for the last five centuries, comes under threat from the bloodthirsty Mahām, who want to feed Nameren their most oppressed ethnic minority, Freida must use her forbidden knowledge of the Library tunnels to find answers in deep and dangerous places, risking her life and future to save the tri-systems from a humanitarian crisis. While this is an interesting premise, the execution may not appeal to most teen readers. The language is so ostentatious it’s hard to tell what’s actually happening versus what is metaphor or perhaps a sentient AI program flitting through brain-digital interfaces. Readers may need to allow themselves to gloss over large chunks of text or make assumptions about many elements in order to follow the all-too-hidden story threads. Which prompts the question: If the slog doesn’t lead to any real understanding of the tale, was the read worth it? Most characters are brown-skinned.

Filled with beautiful prose vignettes but a confusing and tedious narrative nonetheless. (map, author’s note) (Speculative fiction. 16-adult)

Kirkus Reviews