This book kept harkening back to the feelings I had when I first read A Wrinkle in Time; it’s the oddest mix of elements held together by a magical set of characters. The story begins with a transgender girl fleeing her home with her violin, which is a pretty strong hook; the violin acts as a promise that what you’re reading is not what you might expect. This is quickly followed by the revelation that you are in the world of a superstar violin teacher who has sold her soul to the devil; and she quickly becomes involved not only with Katrina, the young girl, but also with a family of aliens who run a local doughnut shop. If this doesn’t pique your interest then I don’t know what to think. The book is lighthearted and full of whimsy but veers into dark moments and dangerous paths, especially when Katrina endures sexual violence, and when she films herself for paying customers on the internet in order to get money to keep herself alive. So this is not a simple book to categorize. Not every moment in the book quite works for me but the missteps are slight and stem mostly from the daring of the fantasy and the pace of the story. The writing is very strong. Katrina is depicted in a way that feels more like the book is aimed at young adults, with a simplicity of soul that is quite appealing, though this portrait is not easy to reconcile with the book’s harder moments. Nevertheless the book is strong and readable and rather glorious in its invention. Just when the soul-selling part of the plot comes to the head, the other storyline comes to the rescue, and the ending is lovely and unexpected. And there are doughnuts. Every part of the book breathes and moves. A special experience.