A trans boy leads this immersive and creatively imagined adventure on a harsh ice world where magic holds the key to survival.
Oswin knows that as a stray, found as a child on the Endless Expanse of ice, he’s a burden to the people in the settlement of Tundra. He works hard for his strict adoptive mother planting splinters that magically grow into logs, which he then harvests and ships away. It’s back-breaking work, made harder by his fragile lungs, and he’s a small cog in the larger economic system.
One day, however, he receives an unexpected invitation to Corridor, the school that trains young Tundrans how to wield magic in order to survive in the frigid land and be contributing members of society. Oswin never dreamed that as a stray, he’d get such an offer. He’s both determined to prove himself and still cowed by years of hearing that strays are just a drain on Tundran resources.
His adopted older brother (an actual Tundran), who is already at the school, tries to help Oswin settle in, but Oswin soon finds out that their whole family is treated skeptically because of the criminal actions of an uncle. Many students also harass Oswin because he’s a stray. Oswin, who was taught little about magic or Tundran life outside his home, finds himself at a disadvantage, but will still have to pass difficult survival exams if he’s going to stay at the school. Oswin tries his best—until sabotage and an influx of monsters from beyond the settlement raise the stakes even higher. Can Oswin (and maybe some burgeoning friends) figure out what’s going on and put an end to it?
Author Jacob North has created a compelling and original world that keeps the story from feeling like a tired rehash of the “magic school” trope. Sure, there are some things here that readers of other such series will recognize, like school uniforms, quirky professors, taxonomies of monsters and spells, snooty classmates, and yes, bullies. But this is far from a clone of other series. The unforgiving climate and the isolation of the Tundran settlement mean that every action could have an impact on survival. The magic system is wielded first and foremost to create needed resources and protect the community.
Oswin is an original protagonist, too, irrepressibly curious and questioning, with a quirky sense of humor, yet harboring deep doubts about his own worth in a world that has long told him strays have none. And Oswin’s classmate Ennestasia, who plays an important role, gives us a nice twist on the “student from an important and wealthy family” trope which I won’t spoil, except to say her character is more nuanced than one might expect.
Notably, though, Oswin’s trans identity is a non-issue, as are the nonbinary identities of another student and a professor, and the fact that one male professor wears a skirt. (We also learn in passing that one character, unremarkably, has two dads.) There’s a definite message about belonging here, but refreshingly, it doesn’t center around queer identities. At the same time, we do see moments of how being trans impacts Oswin; he wears a binder, for example, and is happy to find another student at the school whose gender isn’t the same as that assigned at birth.
The story wraps up satisfyingly, but with clear hooks for a sequel. Put on a warm sweater and curl up with this recommended tale.
Oswin and Ennestasia are White, but other students and teachers reflect a range of skin tones.
