From the Publisher
Strong worldbuilding is matched with breathtaking adventure, a touch of romance, and compelling characters… Thought-provoking and entertaining in equal measure, here’s hoping this isn’t the last we see of Simon and Alice.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“Beautifully imagined and vividly described…a prevailing tone of earnestness and hope balances the decay and dread to create an ideal first experience of a horror standby.” — Publishers Weekly
“Although there is some delicious gore and thrilling discovery, Simon’s family is the heart of the novel… Dark fantasy and even some horror buffs will appreciate the scares.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for When My Heart Joins the Thousand: “A gorgeous love story of depth and raw emotion that beautifully dismantles the ugly perceptions of autism.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“[Alvie’s] meltdowns and behavioral quirks add dimension to what is a fully realized portrayal of a person living with Asperger’s... This is a love story that could also appeal to adult readers. Their love is hard-fought and deservedly earned.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“At last! A.J. Steiger’s When My Heart Joins the Thousand offers a love story between two atypical characters with breathtaking honesty about all the messy aspects of real love—sex, compatibility, trust, and most of all, honesty.” — Cammie McGovern, author of Say What You Will
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Although there is some delicious gore and thrilling discovery, Simon’s family is the heart of the novel… Dark fantasy and even some horror buffs will appreciate the scares.
Cammie McGovern
At last! A.J. Steiger’s When My Heart Joins the Thousand offers a love story between two atypical characters with breathtaking honesty about all the messy aspects of real love—sex, compatibility, trust, and most of all, honesty.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Although there is some delicious gore and thrilling discovery, Simon’s family is the heart of the novel… Dark fantasy and even some horror buffs will appreciate the scares.
Kirkus Reviews
2020-11-26
Simon Frost has been struggling for years.
When he was 10, his mother disappeared and his twin sister, Olivia, died. Now Simon is 12, and his father is distant, a formerly powerful Animist who has become the subject of dreadful rumors. Simon is struggling to master the magic that would make him a true Animist, one who can create and control monstrous creatures large and small. After heading off to attend Eidendel’s Foundation Academy and miserably failing his apprenticeship, Simon is reassigned to work in the drudgery of a dusty, old mailroom. When the Foundation ignores a letter that arrives from the tiny village of Splithead Creek—begging for an Animist to rescue them from a terrorizing monster—Simon disobeys orders to drop it and sets out alone to save the tiny village. But things are not as he expected, and instead he winds up on a journey to right past wrongs, change his world, and rethink everything he ever thought he knew about his own life. Simon is an unlikely hero who will win readers’ hearts through his sheer determination to fight for what is right by any means necessary. Steiger has developed an original fantasy with creative worldbuilding, strong pacing, and a sympathetic protagonist. The complex narrative structure may be challenging to younger readers. Most characters are presumed to be White.
An imaginative, thrilling page-turner. (Fantasy. 9-13)
