“Schwab explores the natures of justice and humanity in an assuredly built world with a compelling settings and an intriguing music-based magic. And in August and his Sunai siblings, she introduces a type of monster both sympathetic and terrifying. A cliffhanger ending promises a sequel.” - The Horn Book
“There are no wasted words here, and the end result is a darkly precise narrative that feels like a shiver down the spine…this taut creation about the nature of humanity lingers long after its disquieting finale.” - Booklist (starred review)
“Kate and August both undergo an impressive amount of character development, and fans will like them despite their flaws. Combined with the nonstop action and the author’s immersive writing style, this first purchase is sure to be a hit with older teens and fans of urban fantasy.” - School Library Journal
“A violently thoughtful, brilliant triumph of a book that will blind you with its genius.” - Gaby Salpeter, Books of Wonder
“Schwab’s latest seems poised to grab both her adult and teen readers; the world is fascinating…the characters complicated, and the political machinations and emotional depths both charged and compelling. …Crackling with energy, just the ticket for an all-night read.” - Kirkus Reviews
“The pacing is fast, the narrative enthralling, but it is the depths of the novel - its acuteness of moral imagination and perception - that will stay with you afterward. My highest recommendation.” - San Diego Union-Tribune
“Schwab has built a strange, captivating alternate America filled with offbeat, fascinating characters. …Readers looking for a dangerous and engrossing new world to fall into will find it with this fast-paced, frightening read.” - Publishers Weekly
“Unique, thrilling, and impossible to predict, This Savage Song is something entirely new, and fans of YA will want to seek out this dark and powerful novel. ...Schwab has written a book with moments of cruelty and bleakness that also includes high adventure and heroic achievements.” - Locus
“Gritty dialogue and realistic scenes of violence will have senior high school students who enjoy The Hunger Games and Divergent series awaiting the next book in this series.” - Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

2016-03-30
Natural enemies find themselves reluctant allies in a war-torn, monstrous future.Schwab's latest seems poised to grab both her adult and teen readers; the world is fascinating (if sometimes a little thin—education and technology are almost exactly the same in this future), the characters complicated, and the political machinations and emotional depths both charged and compelling. The scene: an isolated supercity in former middle America, populated by the evil Corsai and Malchai and the more complicated Sunai, who can kill only those who have killed (and must do so regularly to maintain their semblance of humanity); all have been born from moments of violence. Against this, Kate Harker (fair-haired, partially deaf, inclined to arson and spying) returns to appease and impress her father, who controls the Malchai and half the city. Across town, Sunai August (seemingly 16, black haired and gray-eyed, a monster who tries to be human) wants his adoptive father's side to succeed in creating a better world. Family and interpersonal dynamics, questions of good and evil, horrifying monsters (some of them human), and moments of violence both graphic and poetic serve as backdrop to a growing sense of kinship between Kate and August, who want a better world—but probably won't get one, based on the zinger of an ending.Crackling with energy, just the ticket for an all-night read. (Futuristic fantasy/horror. 15 & up)