This is a rich, immersive tale about growing up, choosing trust after heartbreak, and discovering family in unexpected places. The worldbuilding is extensive, drawing readers fully into a magical fairy-tale realm inhabited by hags, bone-eaters, and bloodsuckers. . . . Deeply relatable and beautifully written. Hand this to mature readers who are fans of Sabaa Tahir’s books or folktales.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
Cultural details and spiritual practices evocative of Islamic traditions ground the story, and folkloric epigraphs prefacing most chapters help round out the worldbuilding.
—Kirkus Reviews
Chefchaouni’s debut is sure to delight fans of dark fairy tales. While filled with mythology, Chefchaouni’s story also covers hard topics such as addiction, deception, poverty, prostitution, depression, and government oppression. A painful yet necessary reminder that family and friendships are made of the people who choose you.
—Booklist
The setting is carefully built through third-person narration and character dialogue, while excerpts of poems, folk stories, and decrees from the Mekchaouen realm further develop the history of the world and the stakes of Shay’s endeavors.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The Lustrous Dark is as lush and enchanting as it is raw and haunting. With rich mythology, lovable characters, and exquisite prose, Loretta Chefchaouni’s debut tackles themes of oppression and addiction with unflinching honesty and hope. A fiercely feminist tale about reclaiming one’s power.
—Pascale Lacelle, New York Times bestselling author of Curious Tides
Loretta Chefchaouni's prose wraps around the reader like a dream, bringing to life the colors of the medina, the green of the forest, and the bleakness of Ard Al-Ghul. The Lustrous Dark will keep readers wanting more.
—Nafiza Azad, award-winning author of The Candle and the Flame
Lushly beautiful and wildly original, The Lustrous Dark explores faith, folklore, and feminine rage, brilliantly illuminating facets of girlhood from self-sacrificing to monstrous, fearless to fallible.
—Leanne Schwartz, author of A Prayer for Vengeance and To a Darker Shore
At turns grim and whimsical, this is a fairytale of our times, filled with grisly dangers, feminist rage, and steadfast female friendship—and a lovely, gentle romance to wrap it all up. A story I will be thinking about for a long time to come.
—Intisar Khanani, author of the The Sunbolt Chronicles and Thorn
