Brazen, baroque, "The Kingdom of Little Wounds" plots coordinates of history, fever, and magic in such a way that each is occasionally disguised as the other. However, there's no disguising Susann Cokal's immediate rise to eminence as a pantocrator of new realms. I lived in her controversial kingdom for only a week, but I suspect and hope I shall never recover.--Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked and What-the-DickensThere are deep and shallow reading experiences; this is a deep reading experience. There is nothing like it, though the fossil record flashes all kinds of petticoat. (Sigrid Undset. Margaret Atwood.) Elegant, complex, and sharp as a needle.--Blythe Woolston, winner of the William Morris Prize and author of Black HelicoptersAn epic, mercurial tale of astounding beauty, power, and madness.--Gigi Amateau, author of Claiming Georgia TateComplex and carefully crafted -- mesmerizing.--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)[T]he novel's ... brutality, eloquence, and scope are a breathtaking combination.--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Susann Cokal is the author of two adult novels, "Mirabilis "and "Breath""and Bones," and her short stories and literary criticisms have been widely published in literary journals and" The New York Times Book Review." This is her first novel for young adults. Currently an associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, she lives in Richmond, Virginia.