Midnight Robber — Nalo Hopkinson

A daughter must contend with her father's crime in the award-winning author's “deeply satisfying” novel of Caribbean folklore and sci-fi adventure (The New York Times Book Review).

It's Carnival time and the Caribbean-colonized planet of Toussaint is celebrating with music, dance, and pageantry. Masked "Midnight Robbers" waylay revelers with brandished weapons and spellbinding words. To young Tan-Tan, the Robber Queen is simply a favorite costume to wear at the festival -- until her power-corrupted father commits an unforgiveable crime.

Suddenly, both father and daughter are thrust into the brutal world of New Half-Way Tree. Here monstrous creatures from folklore are real, and the humans are violent outcasts in the wilds. Tan-Tan must reach into the heart of myth and become the Robber Queen herself. For only the Robber Queen's legendary powers can save her life . . . and set her free.

"Caribbean patois adorns this novel with graceful rhythms . . . Beneath it lie complex, clearly evoked characters, haunting descriptions of exotic planets, and a stirring story . . . [This book] ought to elevate Hopkinson to star status." -- Seattle Times