The Droughtlanders.

Emily Walters Gregor is a graduate student in 20th-century American
literature and an ESL writing tutor at the University of Minnesota.

Seth and Eli Maddox live in a world divided between the prosperity of the Eastern Key and the poverty and social isolation of the Droughtlanders, the inhabitants of the desert bordering the Keyland. For Seth and Eli, this conflict could not be any more central to their lives as they discover that their mother is plotting a Droughtlanders rebellion. While Seth strives to please his father by denouncing the Droughtlanders, Eli renounces Keyland and sets out to find his mother.

Tackling complicated and dramatic themes, including drugs, sexuality, terrorism, and organized crime, Mac’s novel establishes a world that is both fantastical and uncannily familiar. Never falling into simplistic portrayals, both Keylanders and Droughtlanders share admirable and deplorable characteristics. Mac’s novel is evidence of the occasional ability of fantasy to portray a world more real than our own.

Though the events of the novel will prove challenging to young readers, this challenge will not go unrewarded. Mac’s writing is clear and absorbing, and the world she creates is fully developed. Highly recommended.