When fifteen-year-old Thaddeus Cane moves to the town of Superstition, he quickly realizes the place lives up to its name when he meets and falls in love with Teofil, the garden gnome next door. But Teofil isn’t the only magical being in Superstition, and Thaddeus will encounter witches, wizards, and even dragons as he embarks on a dangerous journey—and the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way, he’ll uncover family secrets and learn that there’s much more to him than he ever imagined.
Publisher’s Description:
Thaddeus Cane and his garden gnome boyfriend, Teofil, travel with Teofil’s mother and sister, Thaddeus’s father, and a new elf ally to Wraith Mountain, armed with the water from the Well of Tears. Thaddeus hopes to use the water to free his mother—cursed to take dragon form by the witch Isadora—and reunite her with her family. But their quest is far from over, and the party is forced to stop in the small village of Iron Gulch while they procure supplies for their trip up the mountain.
There, Thaddeus continues to gain strength in magic, and he will need it, because something is rotten beneath the idyllic facade of Iron Gulch. A new and dangerous adversary is bent on the destruction of not only Thaddeus and his friends, but everyone living in the town—unless their group can put a stop to it. The fight will be one of the hardest they’ve faced, but if they can prevail, it should prepare them to make their final stand against Isadora and put an end to her cruelty.
Genre: Fantasy
Representation:
Gender:
Cis girls: Astrid Rhododendron (Garden gnome), Aisha Hutchins
Cis boys: Thaddeus Cane, Teofil Rhododendron (species: Garden Gnome)
Sexuality:
Gay: Thaddeus Cane, Teofil Rhododendron
Heterosexual: Astrid Rhododendron (Garden gnome), Fetter Rhododendron (Garden Gnome), Dulindir (elf), Aisha Hutchins
Romantic Orientation:
Homoromantic: Thaddeus Cane, Teofil Rhododendron
Race/Ethnicity:
White: Thaddeus Cane
Black: Aisha Hutchins
Location: Unspecified mountainous region of the US
Trigger Warnings: Gory battle scenes