Seventeen-year-old Stella can hear ghosts, a handy talent during the Spiritualism fervor of 1912 but not so great for her mental, emotional, and social health. Still, a girl’s gotta eat, and performing seances can bring in some cash, even if it means she’s occasionally run out of various boardinghouses by religious zealots, led by Reverend Jenkins. The reverend’s latest tirade, however, has left Stella exhausted and unsettled, so she’s in a bit of a vulnerable place when she meets Pax, a charming rogue who knows Stella’s gifts are no act. When he reveals that he’s plotting to take down Max Blanck, owner of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, and needs her help to do so, Stella warily agrees to avenge her sister, Daisy, who died in the factory fire. They’re aiming to frame Blanck for a theft they’ll plan for his next soiree, but Stella has one demand that she absolutely will not waver from: they cannot kill him, even given his own role in the death of hundreds. Revenge is one thing, but murder is a whole different sin, and Stella knows all too well what a darkened soul can do. Witty, bold, and immediately sympathetic, Stella narrates with a rapid, direct pace, the style of someone who is used to getting their thoughts interrupted by ghosts and thus rushes to have her say. Pax plays the role of the dashing cad well, though his carefree façade is belied by a deep grief he has for his sister, who was also lost in the fire. The heist is a true work of art, and readers get to see it from all angles thanks to Daisy, who narrates a few chapters from the beyond. History buffs will appreciate the nods to real historical figures, and the author’s note explains some of the deviations Tubb made from the real timeline. A lively read that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this would be an excellent follow-up to Bray’s The Diviners series (BCCB 10/12, etc.). KQG
Description
The Witch Haven meets Divine Rivals in this magical, “high-stakes page-turner of a thriller” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) of a young clairvoyant who gets dragged into a dangerous game of revenge alongside a mysterious thief in early 1900s New York City.
Stella Bohdan is never alone—never—and yet she is the loneliest person she knows, dead or alive. A gifted psychic who can hear the voices of spirits, all Stella wants is to con enough people to survive on the brutal New York City streets and find a way to deal with the tragic death of her sister.
Performing seances in parlor rooms and tarot readings by candlelight, Stella is barely holding on. Until she meets Pax, a mysterious young man who offers Stella an invitation and a promise: Join a secret group of talented mystics who explore the darker realms of spiritualism, and together they will get revenge on her sister’s killer.
But how can Stella admit she is the reason her sister is dead?
In the hope of righting past wrongs, Stella joins Pax and his team of mystics. It’s soon clear there is more behind their partnership than just vengeance.
They must tread carefully though, because in the world of spiritualism, not everything is what it seems—especially when communing with the unknown.
Reviews
In 1912 Manhattan, Stella is haunted by Spirit, a chorus of deceased voices that does not include the one she wants to hear—her sister Daisy’s who died in the Shirtwaist Triangle Fire a year earlier. Stella longs to see some sort of justice against the factory owner Max Blanck. Her desperation sees Stella pair up with the magnetic Pax, who also carries a desire for revenge against Blanck. An elaborate heist comes together as Pax recruits a variety of psychic young New Yorkers, including the nonspeaking Nirav, who has the power of telemetry, and animal medium Kiyoko, to help punish Blanck. As the plan grows, Stella yo-yos between yearning for community and an inability to trust others. The details of early 20th-century New York City feel vibrant and lived in. Spirit allows Stella to consider what revenge and forgiveness cost a person; readers will be rightly angered by Blanck’s callousness and the upper classes’ ability to escape any form of justice. There is a lengthy setup before the culminating events, and there is an additional set piece that feels extraneous. A second narrator appears sporadically to provide flashbacks explaining events unseen by Stella. As a result, the narrative pacing is uneven. Stella and Pax are cued white; names signal diversity among the secondary characters. VERDICT An entertaining if uneven heist adventure with a background of labor and spiritualism’s history.
"Drawing on the fascinating history of the spiritualist movement, Kristin Tubb crafts a haunting, atmospheric story where grief, belief, and deception intertwine. Rich with historical texture, The Spiritualists reminds us that the voices of the past are never truly silent."
Grieving young grifters plot revenge in this YA debut from O’Donnell Tubb (Fowl Play), an exuberant historical fantasy set in 1912 New York City. Seventeen-year-old clairvoyant Stella Bodhan ekes out a living reading fortunes and holding seances until “true believer” Pax Princip, 20, recruits her to a nascent bureau of psychics. The bureau’s stated mission is to ease sorrow by facilitating communication with the dead, but that changes after Stella and Pax meet Nirav, a soothsayer who paints his prophetic visions. Stella and Pax each lost a sister in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, a tragedy for which factory owner Max Blanck was recently exonerated, and one of Nirav’s paintings places Pax and Stella at Blanck’s upcoming victory celebration. Upon learning that Harry Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the world-famous Hope Diamond will also appear at the event, Pax and his intersectionally diverse band of mystics hatch a plan to infiltrate it and ruin Blanck. Convoluted character backstories make the tale feel a bit overstuffed, but burgeoning romance and rollicking hijinks elicit continued reader engagement. Stella and her dead sister, Daisy, take turns narrating, their tones breezy despite some dark subject matter, including the factory fire and the Titanic’s sinking. Ages 14–up. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary. (June)