Hairston (Mindscape) brews up a potent blend of West African religion and history, magic, science fiction, theater, and the life of one Pittsburgh teen in the 1980s. The curtain opens with Cinnamon Jones at the funeral for her half-brother, Sekou, who has died of an overdose and left her as the Guardian of a book called simply The Chronicles, which gives the history of the Wanderer. The Wanderer is an extradimensional being who first materialized in embattled Dahomey, a kingdom in West Africa, in 1892, and whose story is gradually revealed to Cinnamon as she reads the book. Three years later, she introduces two other teens, Klaus Beckenbauer and Marie Masuda, to The Chronicles; they read it together and resolve to reunite the aspects of the Wanderer that have been scattered. The three adolescents discover love and mystery while being supported by Sekou's shade and the spirit-filled elders of Cinnamon's family. The glory of West Africa's orishas pulses off the pages, as does the weird power of the Wanderer, an unusual take on an alien life form. The entire work is filled with magic, celebrating West Africans, Native Americans, art, and love that transcends simple binary genders. Hairston's novel is a completely original and stunning work. Agent: Kristopher O'Higgins, Scribe Agency. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Cinnamon Jones' favorite person in the world is her big brother, Sekou. Before he died, he made Cinnamon a guardian of The Chronicles of the Great Wanderer, a book said to serve a person throughout life. The Chronicles tells the story of an alien and a great Dahomean warrior woman in 1892. The alien is on Earth to collect stories and understand humanity. As Cinnamon reads, the narrative flows between her story in the 1980s and that of the alien. She can see the changes that occur in the story as well as hear Sekou. But her protective mother keeps mysteries from her since she is the youngest in the family. As Cinnamon works toward a career in the theater, protects The Chronicles, and discovers what her family is keeping from her, the alien and warrior woman try to survive during a war in Dahomey and make their way to Chicago for the World's Fair. The genre blurring and metastorytelling will capture readers' attention, and they will want to see both threads through to the end.

Cinnamon Jones wants to perform onstage like her theater-star grandparents, the eponymous protagonists of Hairston's multi-award-winning Redwood and Wildfire, but she's still sorting through a messy family life. Then her brother gives her a book about a Dahomean warrior woman and an alien from another dimension who performed at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and she feels a connection. With a 75,000-copy first printing.