Rust in the Root

Laura has a dream: to use her talents in the mystical arts to create the most amazing desserts at the best bakery ever, serving the likes of Shirley Temple and Clark Gable. She leaves the safety of home for New York City with high hopes. However, four months and so many naysayers later, she joins the Bureau of the Arcane as a last effort.

The Bureau is taxed with helping to end the Blight that is spreading across the land and repairing the Dynamism so that Mechomancy (basically science and technology) can continue to grow. Though Skylark is reluctant to take Laura on, the Bureau is desperate for those who can work the mystical arts (usually colored folk). When Laura is sent on her first mission, she realizes there is so much more to the mystical arts, including a darkness at its core.

The division between the races and their abilities is the basis of this tale set in 1937. The world building is phenomenal, the queer mage is spunky, and the dialogue witty and quick. This is easily as incredible as Dread Nation and its sequel. If there is no sequel to this one, it will be a literary travesty.