Thoughtfully imaginative and action-packed, Steeplejack is New York
Times best-selling A. J. Hartley's YA debut, set in a 19th-century
South African fantasy world.
Seventeen-year-old Anglet Sutonga lives repairing the chimneys, towers,
and spires of the city of Bar-Selehm. Dramatically different communities
live and work alongside each other. The white Feldish command the
nation's higher echelons of society. The native Mahweni are divided
between city life and the savannah. And then there's Ang, part of the
Lani community who immigrated over generations ago as servants and now
mostly live in poverty on Bar-Selehm's edges.
When Ang is supposed to meet her new apprentice Berrit, she instead
finds him dead. That same night, the Beacon, an invaluable historical
icon, is stolen. The Beacon's theft commands the headlines, yet no one
seems to care about Berrit's murder - except for Josiah Willinghouse, an
enigmatic young politician. When he offers her a job investigating his
death, she plunges headlong into new and unexpected dangers.
Meanwhile, crowds gather in protests over the city's mounting troubles.
Rumors surrounding the Beacon's theft grow. More suspicious deaths
occur. With no one to help Ang except Josiah's haughty younger sister, a
savvy newspaper girl, and a kindhearted herder, Ang must rely on her
intellect and strength to resolve the mysterious link between Berrit and
the missing Beacon before the city descends into chaos.
