City of Islands

by Kali Wallace

A dark and riveting middle grade fantasy from the critically acclaimed Kali Wallace about an archipelago of magical islands and one girl’s dangerous discovery on the ocean floor. Perfect for fans of Holly Black and Kate Milford.

In a foggy archipelago called the City of Islands, twelve-year-old Mara has always been fascinated by the magic that drifts on the air as songs. But as a servant for the powerful Lady of the Tides, Mara must earn her keep by searching for magical treasures deep in the murky ocean.

Then Mara finds the skeletons of strange hybrid creatures that haven’t existed in the city for centuries—all humming with a powerful spell-song. Convinced her discovery will earn her the opportunity to study magic, Mara shares them with the Lady. But instead of a reward, the Lady gives Mara a new to sneak into the island fortress, the Winter Blade.

Now Mara must dive deeper than ever before to survive her mission. The chilling truths that Mara uncovers along the way, about her past as well as about the secrets of her beloved city, are more dangerous—and magical—than she ever imagined.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Juvenile, Adventure

333 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 24, 2018

About the author

Kali Wallace studied geology and geophysics before she decided she enjoyed inventing imaginary worlds as much as she liked researching the real one. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, F&SF, Asimov's, Lightspeed Magazine, and Tor.com. She is the author of the dark, fantastical teen novels Shallow Graves (2016) and The Memory Trees (2017), as well as the middle grade fantasy adventure City of Islands (2018). Her first novel for adults, the sci fi horror SALVATION DAY, is forthcoming from Berkley. She lives in southern California.

Reviews

[Renee Godding · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

Despite the beautiful worldbuilding and great premise, this wasn't as magical as I was hoping for.

Set in a city comprised of (you guessed it:) islands, we follow Mara, a young treasurediver searching the ocean floor for valuables. Instead she finds the skeletons of strange creatures, thought to be long forgotten, humming with magical powers. This sets her off to a new adventure, uncovering the secrets of her city, aswell as the strength that lies within herself.

The best thing about The City of Islands is without doubt its setting: I loved the City, which gave me major Atlantis vibes for some reason. I also loved the first half: drowned in mystery and atmosphere.
Unfortunately, the pay-off was a little disappointing to me. The story takes some cliché turns and becomes something many of us have already read before.
I still enjoyed my time with it, and think as a 12-year old I would have loved it, yet it doesn’t transcend its genre as some other middlegrade is able to do.
It’s not for a lack of trying: there are some themes in this, that should have been able to have a deep effect on adults as well; especially child labor and slavery. Maras job is, possibly intentional, very reminiscent of Ama’s (Japanese pearl divers), which could have been a powerful plotpoint. Yet the resolve was all too easy for me and none of it quite packed the punch.

That being said: The City of Islands was a very enjoyable and fantastical read, that I would definitely recommend to children in this age group or adults who just want some nice middlegrade. If you are looking for a genre-transcending read that will blow you away: this wasn’t it for me unfortunately.

[Caleb Roehrig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't typically read a lot of middle grade, but after finishing Kali Wallace's CITY OF ISLANDS, I might just start. This is a really charming (yet suspenseful!) story about a girl finding her voice, her place, and her confidence in a world full of people who overlook and underestimate her. The world-building is inventive, both in terms of the fully-realized geography and comprehensive mythology, and the story is thrilling, touching, and funny -- often at the same time.

I love books where the main character learns that they can rely on themselves, that sometimes they can be their own hero, and CITY OF ISLANDS will teach that lesson to kids who may feel overwhelmed by current events.

[Claire Fayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so glad to read an early copy of Kali Wallace's latest book - her first middle-grade story. I'm a big fan of her writing and, with its world of islands, pirates and magic, this one was right up my street. I loved the characters - loved the fact that none of them are wholly good or bad. And the heroine, Mara, has to navigate her way through an increasingly complicated world, and just when you think you know what's going on, everything changes again.

A great-page-turning plot, inventive world-building and characters I'm missing already. I hope we'll see more books set in this world because there's plenty of scope to continue Mara's story.

[Adriana Mather · Rating 5 out of 5]

The magic! The adventure! The world-building! Um, yes, I love this book.

Mara is such a fun, curious, and daring main character who faces a complicated world filled with secrets. She not only navigates her way through this magically complex world, but she finds her voice and the inner strength in the best way possible. I was so impressed not only with the touching and thoroughly entertaining story-telling, but the important messaging woven into this tale. Highly, highly recommend!

[The Captain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahoy there mateys! Earlier this year I really enjoyed salvation day and so I decided to pick up another of the author's books.  I went with this one because of this part of the blurb "In a foggy archipelago called the City of Islands . . . Mara has always been fascinated by the magic that drifts on the air as songs . . . Mara must earn her keep by searching for magical treasures deep in the murky ocean."  Sea yarn with super cool world building sign me up.  So the problem?  I didn't like the plot.  The beginning started out strong but the once the magical artifacts are found, it starts to make no sense.  Mara is one of those protagonists that seems to have no agency and is thrown from weird moment to weird moment.  The characters seemed cool at first but were ultimately forgettable.  Plus the resolution was lame.  Shame because the setting deserved better. Arrrr!

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[LaRonda (Flying Paperbacks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can see my full review here!

This story was more that I thought it’d be and it made my heart happy. The world building and lore was interesting; Some aspects of the magic system were a bit confusing, but not to the point where I couldn’t follow the story. Yet it was the main character that captured my heart. Mara was such a relatable lead- ambition yet insecure, caring, smart- I felt her loneliness and her hunger to make a name for herself. I was strangely emotional, especially towards the end. It was really good.

06/25--This story made me weirdly emotional?

*I received an eArc of this book from the Publishers through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

[Yuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun middle grade adventure fantasy story. I enjoyed Mara a lot--plucky but not perfectly fearless, resourceful, caring of her friends tempered by a healthy dose of self-involvement. Liked the worldbuilding a lot and wish we could've seen more of the mage society, though there wasn't really time/space within this book. My only qualm is that the book was a bit crowded with characters, especially sort-of antagonists. I liked the two main Big Bads, but there were a few other forces all working against Mara that, for me, ended up taking away from the conflict with the two Big Bads.

[Meredith Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked the book City of Islands completely based off the cover of the book. Sometimes I like to pick out my next book by going to the library and looking at the covers in my favorite genre. I think it's kind of fun that way!

City of Islands is not written for someone my age. I would say it's more of the 3rd to 6th grade age group. I like to try out books for my kids, and lets face it, I love reading any type of genre. When I came home from the library, my 9 year old took the book and read it first. His review was that it kept him entertained, he liked the main character, some twists surprised him, and over all it was a good book.

The main character, Mara is a servant of the Lady of the Tides who is in charge of all of Tidewater Island. Their world is made up of many islands (and there's a convenient map at the beginning of the book) all of which were created by the founders, magical creatures who live underwater and who have not been seen for centuries. Mages rule the islands. They can sing magical songs to make things such as the weather, water, and bones do their bidding. Mara knows a song her mother sang to her when she was a girl and as she sings the song more and more, strange and magical things start to happen. She is a diver for The Lady of the Tides and while diving one day, she makes a discovery that will send her on a magical and self finding adventure.

I truly enjoyed this book. I think it's appropriate for the age group it represents and will entertain the reader from start to finish.

[Kathy MacMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kali Wallace creates a stunning and unusual world in this fantasy that is at once bound up in myth and legend and grounded in the gritty reality of fish markets and hardscrabble village life. Mara is a brave, determined, and ultimately thoughtful heroine who both yearns for and fears magic, and is willing to ask difficult questions about the responsibilities that come with power. The people that she cares about - loyal Fish Hook, caring Izzy, even the stately and distant Lady of the Tides – are fully drawn characters, some with their own surprisingly motivations. Underlying each of Mara’s discoveries is the yearning for family and grief for the loss of her parents and Bindy, the bone mage who took her in as a child. In uncovering secrets about the long-gone founders of the City of Islands, she also uncovers parts of her own past she might have preferred to stay hidden, and must come to understand a new definition of family.

[Chelsea Walker]

I picked up this book because it was about islands, in an attempt to get some ideas for my own island based WIP.
However, after getting about 30% of the way through, I don’t feel like finishing it beyond this point.

It does seem like a good middle grade though, with islands and magic and mysterious bones. I would still recommend it for a younger reader.

[Zaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant fantasy world building but with forgettable characters.

The world building was nice and reminded me of Robin Hobb's Realms of the Elderlings, so it was nice but not outstanding for an adult reader (a kid would probably have been a little more impressed). The magic based on songs was a good idea and for once, I'd no problems reading the short parts dedicated to songs (in other books, I skip them... yes I'm looking at you boring 1st volume of Lord of the Rings). The various magical parts were also well depicted and gave at some points some sense of wonder or danger, depending what Mara was doing, and I enjoyed the time spent in a watery environment. If overall the story wasn't boring, it was tinted with a dark mood and felt quite flat for me. Mara was involved in some adventures and rescues, but when there was urgency, I found that the story dragged and lacked excitement and when there was plenty of time to developed characters through talks, it wasn't used for it. The last part dived in more interesting waters, with action and doubts, so this one was at least more satisfying. The cast was, on paper, interesting, but I already have problems remembering the characters' names just after finishing the book, and they were short and easy ones. I didn't find the characters really shallow, there were attempts to give them some difficult pasts, but I never connected with Mara, I found her memories repetitive and boring, and the secondary cast was mostly useless due to the few interactions between the characters. In summary, good ideas, but a lack on the characterization side, which came a bit as a surprise as I liked a lot the work done for Shallow Graves.

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!

[Finley · Rating 5 out of 5]

City of Islands is a wonderful novel, excellent beyond words. It follows the story of Mara, an orphan who had lost both her parents at a young age, then her teacher whom she had grown to love and trust only a few years later, leaving her to the life of diving deep into the sea for artifacts for the Lady of Tides to study, but rarely receiving any praise for her dangerous work. When she finds a strange skull, unlike any creature she had ever seen or which had been heard of in more than legends and statues for generations, she is sent to find more, and then to discover where they had come from. This sends her on an adventure which will cause her to question everything she knows about her past, her present, and herself, but ultimately helps her let go of painful memories of the past, and discover the love of her friends and an inner power which will raise her above all expectation ever held for her, even by herself.

I loved every moment of this novel. The characters were lifelike, with believable motivations and flaws, and the settings and events were rich and well-painted. I felt as if I was looking in on another universe, watching events as they unfolded, rather than reading a work of fiction. I was especially pleased with Wallace’s decision to make most of the main characters persons of color, as there are so few non-white characters in young adult fiction, and even fewer who take the helm of the adventure rather than being a token sidekick. Furthermore, it was a story which kept you on your toes, creating twists and surprises which would have been impossible to predict, but which are supported well enough that they fit right into the progression, making this a book that is impossible to put down. This book was beautifully written and a pleasure to read, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to experience it.

Other than a few spelling mistakes and typos which I am sure will be caught and corrected in the official release, and very few of them jarring enough to be disruptive to the flow of the story. It is obvious that Wallace has plenty of experience with writing, and knows how to create and tell dynamic tales. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys middle-grade fiction and is looking for a story of magic and personal strength unlike any they have read before. This book would be especially great for young girls and children of color, showing them that, no matter what background they come from or what obstacles stand in their way, they can find pride in themselves and happiness in their life if they never give up on themselves and do what makes them happy and feels right. I will be looking into Kali Wallace’s other novels and short stories, as I am very curious what other works she has written which helped shape her as a writer who was able to write City of Islands, and I hope she will write plenty more, as I would love to see what other stories she is able to weave from here on out.

[Katie]

This was such a quick and fun read, but it ended up being a lot darker than I was expecting.

This book follows our main character Mara, who lives in a world made up of islands (an archipelago honestly) and is a diver who retrieves artifacts from the ocean floor and delivers them to a master. This world had an ancient society who has now been lost, so they're trying to find relics from that time. Mara ends up gaining favor with the master and sent on a quest under the sea and what she gets is a lot more than she bargained for.

The writing of this book was pretty well done. It was a fast-paced book, flowed nicely and was just fine in general. You know by now, I tend not to pay too much attention to writing when I read, except in very specific cases.

The plot was very interesting, it took all kinds of interesting twists and turns (most of which I saw coming overall, but still fun regardless) and was fast moving and kept you wanting to know what was going to happen next. This book had a bit of a mystery aspect to it, but it was also fairly dark and had themes of death, experimentation and the like in it.

The world building was great. I would honestly read an entire book about this world because I really enjoyed it. As I mentioned earlier, this world is a whole culture based on different islands. There was also the whole history of this ancient culture that we're trying to find out and how it all ties together. The magic system in this was primarily done through songs and language which I really enjoyed. I can be picky with music magic, but I thought it was done really well here. Also just the every day lives of the people who lived here was lovely to see. Honestly I wish we got to spend more time exploring the world because I think we only got a smattering of what it could be. I hope the author writes more in this world someday, even though the story wrapped up nicely in the end, I felt like there was more to explore.

Finally, the characters. I'm not going to go into too much depth about them because their interactions and personalities are what drove the story, but I loved Mara as our main character - she's so inquisitive and determined and ambitious (she's quite Slytherin-like if you ask me) and I just loved getting to see her adventures and how she gets in and out of different situations. I loved the friendships we got to see as well. The main one between Mara and Izzy was great and I honestly loved their dynamic a whole lot. Another was the relationship between Mara and Fish Hook. I loved them a lot as well. Overall the relationships and interactions between the characters was well done.

Overall, I really enjoyed this; the plot and writing we well done and made me want to keep reading, the world building was lovely and I wanted more of it because I felt like it wasn't enough and the characters and all of their interactions were lovely to read about. I'd definitely recommend giving this one a read if you haven't already.

[Bish Denham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this story well enough. Being an island girl I could identify with it to some degree, though I thought all the rowing and diving and swimming between islands was not very realistic, unless those islands were very close together, but I never got a sense of how close or far apart they were.

A fathom is 6 feet. On Mara's first dive the author says it's only 4 or 5 fathoms which is 24 to 30 feet. At my best as a young adult I could free dive 25 feet with time to look around for a minute or so. Mara and Lizzy are diving that depth repeatedly AND bring up heavy bones. All that diving and swimming didn't feel realistic. There was a great deal of burning lungs and gasping for air and bounding hearts.

The other thing that irritated me while reading (particularly the first 90 or so pages) was all the back story and the use of the word "had." I almost put the book down because I found myself rewriting sentences in my head. I took 9 random pages and added up the number of times the word "had" was use. It averaged out to 6 "hads" per page. However once I got into the meat of the story the "hads" settled down to more manageable numbers.

There's a nice bit of magic and I liked the singing of spells.

The characters, even the main character Mara, seemed a bit flat, and I wanted to get to know Lizzy and Fish Hook better. All the adults, except for Professor Kosta were, if not snobs, then mean and/or evil. Professor Kosta is like a breath of fresh air. She is compassionate and sympathetic, and doesn't play a big enough part, in my mind. Children, particularly orphaned children like Mara and Fish Hook are treated very poorly. This island society is not kind to children and I found that to be a rather dark theme.

[Marathon County Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orphaned as a child, twelve-year-old Mara works as a servant for the powerful Lady of the Tides by diving into the murky sea for ancient artifacts supposedly containing residual magic from the magical Founders who built their beautiful city thousands of years ago. While diving with her friend Izzy, Mara begins hearing songs reminiscent of the songs her mother used to sing to her, leading her to some strange bones that appear to be singing to her. Instead of her mistress being pleased with this discovery. and being given the opportunity to study magic as she hoped, Mara is interrogated and asked to perform an extremely dangerous and seemingly impossible task— to break into the ancient Founders' fortress, the Winter Blade, believed to be bewitched by numerous spells, enchantments, and full of magical secrets left behind by the Founders and the power-hungry mages/masters that have lived there. What she discovers brings more danger and uncovers secrets, not only concerning the Founders and the powerful resident mage, but also surprising revelations about Mara and her heritage. Written for tweens, this intriguing and well-imagined fantasy will be enjoyed by everyone.

Sharyn H. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

[S. M. Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

City of Islands is pure magic. Wallace has created a world that begs to be explored and Mara, our fierce young protagonist, has a heart that is so pure and wanting, I definitely ached for her. She is a master diver and secures relics from the sea, but the way her talent is manipulated throughout the tale is an excellent exploration of current event topics like the true cost of child labor, abuse and neglect. Her compelling fantasy illustrates how adults can be the horrible monsters in our very real world. And yet there is hope and music and song—a deeper meaning and connection to the world—and this is the beauty of Wallace’s debut middle grade novel. In the literal underneath—this magical sea underworld Wallace creates—are the beautiful relics, the gems, the messages from those who came before. They are art and strength, magic and belonging. Mara finds her home within a home all while the reader discovers the secrets of the City of Islands because of one girl who dared to be brave. I could not put this story down!! Highly recommend!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

City of Islands is a young fiction book (I think it's aimed at gradeschool, but would do well enough for high school or anyone who cares for a good fantasy yarn) with much to recommend it. Beyond a unique magic system - something I always adore in a novel or series - the book is inclusive without being Strange about it or only showing things off to show them off (I'm not sure how to word it, but often times these days representation is given in a sort of "look here it is" way rather than being INCLUDED in the story as a part of the story; once that would have been enough & a great stride forward but I believe in these times we all deserve better than that, and that representation should be woven into stories and not simply exist around them). The main character's sister-character is to marry a woman and indeed men and women can marry other men and women as they so choose. Further, the story itself is tightly woven and fascinating, and I found myself dearly wishing for more when I reached the conclusion.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to the cover of this one, and I wasn't disappointed. Some people on here said they didn't think it was "magical" enough...I don't know, it seemed pretty filled with magic to me. The world had enough development to make for an interesting background, but it wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been. The "city of islands" was comprised of multiple islands, but only a few were really discussed. It would be a good setup for a series of books where the other parts play a role, but even so, I felt sufficiently connected to the world and its history. The characters didn't play as well as the setting and plot for me. I was so engaged by the story that it didn't really affect my feelings toward the book overall, but there were times that I struggled to remember who certain people were or how they related to the main character. Either that, or I just didn't care for many of the characters. Maybe a little bit of both? Still, I was so caught by the story that I didn't really mind not caring about the characters. For me, it's a win overall.

[Angela Kidd Shinozaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much! A very unique fantasy unlike any I have read in awhile. My only complaint is with the cover. It’s a nice illustration, but I don’t think it does the story justice. Half of what makes this story so interesting is the world building and all the islands making up the city. I would like to see those on the cover. Plus maybe some of the different mages. This book may get lost in a sea of others. I hope it doesn’t! Also the last chapter epilogue fell a little short for me. If there will be a sequel, I would like more of a hint at what will happen. And I don’t really understand why Mara felt so guilty about the two mages turned to stone who had done such awful things. Helping them is just asking for trouble. I would like to see more about the founders returning in a sequel. But overall really cool concept about singing spells to make magic, create things, and learn about the past. It was also very chilling what happened to some of characters.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know the bones are right there on the cover, but I still kind of expected a story that felt a bit more like exploring a magical Venice, and less like The Island of Doctor Moreau. Still, it was an interesting story with a distinct setting and world building, though it took me a bit to really get into the story.

There is a common pattern, or I suppose trope, where a magical character suddenly awakens to their power in time to fix the situation. This book has a scene something like that, though it is less a spontaneous, instant development and more a result of building on parts of the narrative from before. And I most like it because it also subverts the trope by having the awakened power go out of control and create almost as much trouble as it fixed.

Also, I think the end of the book is a more dynamic and interesting situation, with Mara newly thrust into a position of power and influence, and new factions in the city. I could see a sequel being worth reading.

[Jennybeast · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this book didn't do much for me. Singing magic in a post-mer world is a pretty compelling set-up, but I think the sheer amount of neglect and abuse of children really bothered me. In some ways that's the point, and I know there are pearl diving children in the world right now who are living Mara's life, but I found that appalling, and I found her frustrating as a character and I thought the all-tied-up-in-a-bow ending was not believable. The adults in this book are pretty uniformly horrible, and the magic can't make up for that.

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.

[Joy Pixley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! Mesmerizing world-building, an amazingly brave, loyal, and determined young female main character, and a compelling plot with believable tension and relatable actions, all delivered with smoothly beautiful, immersive writing. Oh, and the magic is wonderful – they cast spells with songs! Underwater! You have to read it to appreciate it, and I strongly suggest that you do.

One of the best secondary-world fantasies I've read in a while, including those for adults. Definitely one I look forward to re-reading. Highly recommended for fantasy lovers -- and not just for children!

[Kelsey | Kipperblossom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up randomly at work and was completely enthralled by the world and the magic. I love the development of the character and how much she grows throughout this book, even though it really takes place over the span of only maybe a few weeks (days?) I love that there are consequences and I love that the character thinks about them. This book was just... really beautiful. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't look like there are any sequels! I really want to learn more about the world and where it goes from here.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great magic system that isn't fully explored because the protagonist is a beginner and self-taught. This book doubles down on the orphan -- Mara loses two sets of parents before the book even begins, and fights back to learn trust even while reshaping the magical understanding of her island-nation. Grit and determination are her trademarks, as well as compassion and loyalty. The actual adventure is fairly straightforward, but the moral implications give it weight.

[Jill Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juvenile Fantasy. Story took awhile for me to get into it. If you enjoy the idea of a city composed of various islands, mages with different magical abilities, strange hybrid sea creatures, and an adventurous 12 year old orphan, Mara, who dives for treasures for the Lady of the Tides, then this might interest you. I do get annoyed when editors don’t catch mistakes and this one was so obvious, mistaking one character for another. Recommended 4 through 7th grade.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iselected this book as my prize for the Library's summer reading challenge, and I'm so happy with my pick. Mara is a strong heroine and the city itself is a fascinating setting. It's a classic one slightly outcast kid against great odds fanatasy adventure, and while there's resolution it's not theeverything wrapped up in a tidy bow sort of ending. The book doesn't end with an obvious sequel, but I'd be happy to read more stories set in this place with these characters.

[Shawn Remfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply magical.

This book is like reading a Disney story for the first time. Powerful characters and a stunning world blend to bring you a unique experience. There's plenty of action and adventure. Some younger children may be frightened by some scenes, but none of them are gory or brutal.

This is one of the most perfect young adult/older children's books that I've read.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent fantasy set in a city made up of islands (somewhat reminiscent of Legend of Zelda: Windwaker, but that's probably just me). The characters are distinct and likeable, the world is interesting, and the plot kept proving my guesses wrong. If you want a well-imagined and suspenseful middle grade novel, this is it!