Text Publishing, 2015.

Avicenna’s mother is gone and it’s time she reported her missing. It doesn’t make Avi feel any better that her mother foretold this day. Avi faces the police questions bravely; she even gets herself to school. She feeds herself and copes, but in the endless, airless nights she’s driven to panic at her solitude. She lights up the apartment and flings wide the door in hopes of getting air. It’s during those airless nights that her mother’s role as an astrologer begins to haunt her, as her mother’s clients, and even the police, look to Avicenna for answers.

Avicenna is a main character to love. She’s strong, smart, and a bit of a wise ass. Her life has been hard, but she’s always had the benefit of a truly loving mother. It is easy to root for her and to hope that she, too, has her mother’s skills in astrology. There’s plenty of action here, and the stakes are high enough to keep readers turning the pages.

Existential questions are sewn through this plot, adding even more interest. How much do you want to know about your future? Do you really want to know the time and manner of your death? If you know your fate, can you alter it? How will knowing change you? How do we recover from the loss of a loved one? Who will fill the gap?

Set in Melbourne, Australia, The Astrologer’s Daughter is a thought-provoking read. It will be out June 9, 2015.

I read The Astrologer’s Daughter as a digital ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Text Publishing.