ALA Booklist (Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

In a future U.S., states have become countries, magical viruses run rampant, and refugees are ruthlessly deported. Sixteen-year-old Noam Alvaro, son of undocumented immigrants, wakes up in a hospital room to find he's the only surviving member of his family and that his off-the-chart magical technological skills have caught the attention of Carolinia's defense minister, Calix Lehrer. Although under Lehrer's protection, Noam intends to subvert Lehrer's plans and continue to work to help refugees t then he meets and falls in love with Lehrer's son, Dara, and he begins to question everyone's motives, including his own. Lee captures the thorny, ill-defined, and obsessive nature of many a teen romance in Noam and Dara's relationship. This fast-paced, issue-driven thriller will collect readers, who will eagerly anticipate the sequel. With references to the Holocaust as well as present-day issues of immigration, deportation, martial law, and racism, Lee has worked philosophical and current-day realities into a promising series opener.

Kirkus Reviews (Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

In Carolinia, one of the nations of the former United States, magic enters people like a virus, mostly killing them. If you survive, the magic stays and you become a witching. Noam, the Jewish Latinx son of undocumented immigrants from neighboring Atlantia, is one. With his parents dead, Noam is brought to the witching training center, receiving personal tutoring from the minister of defense, Calix Lehrer. Noam sees this as an opportunity to work from the inside to bring rights to the many refugees who have come to Carolinia to escape the virus that still plagues other areas. Fellow student Dara, a dark-skinned and beautiful teen boy, meanwhile favors an anti-refugee politician who has a frosty relationship with Lehrer. If not for the fact that Noam, who is bisexual, harbors lusty feelings for Dara and is sneaking around to maintain a relationship with a father figure at the Migrant Center, or that no witching can be trusted if you don't know what types of magic they're good at, things would be simple. Lee's debut is a thriller with obvious allegorical connections to today's political climate, but it doesn't read as message-y; even those with genre fatigue shouldn't regret giving it a try. If it weren't for the unsatisfying, obviously sequel-ready ending, this would be a standout.Diverse characters, frank discussions about sexual and mental abuse, and reasonably plausible science-based magic elevate this above many dystopian peers. (Dystopian science fiction. 15-18)

School Library Journal (Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

DEBUT In a war-torn future America, new states have formed around the only inhabitable areas left untainted by magic or nuclear fallout. Sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro, son of undocumented Atlantian immigrants, loses his last remaining family member when a magical virus outbreak occurs in his Carolinian neighborhood. The fever claims the lives of many of his neighbors, but Noam wakes to discover that he has been spared and the infection has made him a powerful magic user. Minister Lehrer, a major figure in the government whom Noam despises, offers him a chance to hone his powers under his personal tutelage. Noam uses the opportunity to attempt to overthrow the current administration and help other undocumented immigrants. While its magical system is intriguing, Lee's debut sf thriller is stymied by flat, lackluster characters, in whose motivations and relationships readers are unlikely to be invested. The pace picks up toward the end and a twisty plot offers some surprises. VERDICT Adults and older teens who appreciate stories with close ties among magic, science, and political machinations will find this first novel appealing. Karin Thogersen, Huntley Area P.L., IL