The Hearts We Sold

Gr 8 Up—Dee Moreno worked hard to get a boarding school scholarship so she could live away from her alcoholic parents, but when the school decides to cut scholarships for the following year, Dee chooses to do what many others in need have done: bargain with a demon. However, the demon Agathodaemon wants hearts and two years of labor. Dee is in a cohort of heartless teens along with Cora, James, and Cal, who do the demon's bidding of closing voids, or mysterious portals leading to an unknown danger. Other demons fashion homunculi out of the dealmakers' body parts and send them into the voids to close them. With Cora's time nearly up, she is determined to ensure that the demon doesn't make any more people heartless and she goes on the hunt for a Rumpelstiltskin clause to get their hearts back. However, the obsessions of the heartless come at a cost. Lloyd-Jones's take on the Faustian myth will keep readers engaged. The author presents a broad array of well-developed characters who will intrigue readers as the plot advances and curves. Dee, who is half Latina, offers character depth and diversity often lacking in the fantasy genre.