ALL THE STARS IN THE DAYLIGHT SKY

When an 18-year-old stumbles into the Otherworld, she’s given a choice: Become one of the Others or die.

Cam Smith is stuck in a world of in-betweens. She’s agender, recently diagnosed as autistic, and torn between parents on opposite side of the Atlantic. Now living with her mums and Granaidh, her grandmother, in Scotland, Cam is anxious about entering Oban High School, her seventh school; on top of being queer, older than her peers, and recently arrived from Texas, Cam is coping with PTSD. After a fight with Mam and Mum, Cam runs into the nearby forest, where she meets Ezra, to whom she’s inexplicably drawn. Ezra, whose father came from Syria and mother was Scottish, uses they/them pronouns. When they tell Cam she must leave at once, the white-presenting teen flees through the darkness and accidentally encounters the Sìthichean, or fair folk. She can join them, becoming immortal but unable to reveal her new identity to her family—or be killed. This engaging fantasy dives into Scottish folklore and tradition, effectively exploring the loss of Gaelic cultural knowledge and the worlds of magic it contains. The inclusion of significant amounts of Gaelic language adds authenticity to the worldbuilding. Though the writing feels clumsy at times, the characters and the sparkling queer romance at the heart of the story are enchanting.

A magical and romantic fantasy steeped in Gaelic culture.