Wundersmith – The Calling of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow has turned 12 and it is time to begin her training at the Wundrous Society, along with her eight fellow students selected to join the elite of the elite. Students have their own special knack to be honed and trained by the Society to be useful to it and to the magical city of Nevermoor. Morrigan’s knack is to be a Wundersmith; there is only one other and he is evil and dangerous, so many Society members, including her peers, view Morrigan with suspicion and trepidation. Starting her training is awesome and nerve wracking enough, but Society members have been disappearing and Morrigan’s patron Jasper is too busy dealing with that mystery to be of much help to her. In this second book of the series Townsend seamlessly blends the new school trope with the magical mystery of fantastical Nevermoor, exploring themes of belonging and finding your tribe; fear of the other; and people living both up and down to expectations. It is clever, dark and funny, with Morrigan Crow proving a worthy successor to Harry Potter in the YA fantasy stakes.