What if eternal life was a curse? For Abra Miller, it’s even worse: a terrible threat that imperils mankind. After Miller slew an angelic being at the tender age of twelve, she was commissioned to destroy the Tree of Life wherever it sprang up, preventing Earth from degenerating into a hive of corrupt immortals. But now the Tree has appeared in a realm-between-worlds where even angels dare not tread. With The Edge of Over There—sequel to The Day the Angels Fell—Shawn Smucker unveils a masterwork of lyrical grandeur. It’s a tale of deep mystery and fast friendship, told with the poignancy of half-remembered dreams and the immediacy of pelting rain. In the tradition of Perelandra and A Wrinkle in Time, this story cracks the spacetime doorway to reveal a reality far richer than the world we know.

Best for: Lovers of atmospheric arcana, fans who have already read the first novel.

Discern: Brief bloodless violence; frightening imagery; and extended contemplations of mortality, death, and loss.