The Song of Wrath is a new book from Ontario YA novelist Sarah Raughley.

The Song of Wrath, the follow-up to 2021's The Bones of Ruin, is a YA historical fantasy novel set in an alternate 1880s London, and continues the story of protagonist Iris, an African tightrope dancer who is immortal and has supernatural powers. No matter how hard Iris fights for a normal life, the newly awakened power inside her keeps drawing her toward the path of global annihilation.

All Iris wants is the freedom to choose her own future — but there are forces, including the mysterious Adam Temple and a new character named Hiva, who will stop at nothing to force her to unlock her true potential.

Raughley is a fantasy novelist from Southern Ontario. Her YA Effigies series, which includes Fate of Flames, Siege of Shadows and Legacy of Light, placed readers into a world where four young women are imbued with the powers of the four elements — fire, water, air and earth — and tasked with protecting the world from the evil Phantoms.

Raughley was the 2022 judge for CBC's student writing challenge, The First Page. The challenge invites students from grades 7 to 12 to write the first page of a novel set in 2172 in order to imagine how a present-day affair has unfolded in 150 years.

The Song of Wrath is the direct sequel to The Bones of Ruin, which examined race, gender and identity in a historical context through the story of Iris who's caught up in a secret society's deadly gladiatorial tournament.

The Song of Wrath continues the story of Iris recovering her memory and about what happens when she learns "a devastating truth" about her identity, Raughley told CBC Books.

"I wanted to continue her search for self in The Song of Wrath and answer the question: can't we be who we want to be instead of who others say we have to be?

"The book is fast-paced and action-packed so I hope readers have a lot of fun in this fantastical version of the 19th century! I also hope people can ask, along with Iris, what it means to choose your identity for yourself in the face of unspeakable odds."

The Song of Wrath will be available on April 18, 2023.

You can read an excerpt from The Song of Wrath below.

Fables' king finally emerged from the forest behind the hanging corpses, his bronze body cut like a statue. Golden, pupil-less eyes sparkling with alertness. Beautiful and terrible as the falling dusk. The man had first appeared to Fables naked with nothing but his waist-long curling brown hair to cover his manhood. Now, he wore the shirt, pants and worn smoking jacket Fables had stolen for him. It was a shame. His body was glorious.

But the straw hat upon his head was probably the most necessary to wear: it hid the band of sharp emerald laurels across his head, the white crystal shining at the centre. A crown his king had once told him would be imperative to completing his two missions. The first: to find "her"—whoever she was.

And the second: to wipe out humanity.

This was Hiva.

The lynch mob stood affixed, baffled by this otherworldly creature, as they should. Baffled by the weeds and flowers growing out of his glorious mane. But they were of no concern to Hiva. His gold eyes trained on the girls riding away on the horse.

"I've found you," Hiva said. Before they could get too far, he lifted his hand.

And the horse vanished to ashes.

The gunslinger and the girl she'd just rescued fell to the ground. Women and children were screaming. The photographer stumbled over his tripod trying to escape. Only one officer stepped forward to attack, pulling out his pistol and shooting Hiva in the neck. The bullet cut cleanly through his flesh and out the other end.

Then the bullet hole slowly closed.

The officer fell back in shock as a city official stepped forward and asked the question all were too terrified to ask.

"W-what the hell are you?" His eyes were bulging in fear as if he weren't a murderer himself. "What are you doing here? Answer me!"

"He's here to punish the wicked." It was Fables who answered—underneath his breath, of course, because even with his confidence suddenly skyrocketing at the presence of his king, he still didn't have the stones to draw attention to himself. It soon wouldn't matter.

Hiva lifted his hand.

It had only happened once before, at the Kansas bar Fables had met him in. But he didn't get to witness it that time. This time, he did. The sound of townsfolk screaming as they were burned from the inside out made Fables double over and throw up. He shut his eyes until he felt ashes riding up his nostrils with each shaky breath. When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by piles of ash. The townsfolk were gone. Only their toys, guns and photography tools had been left behind. And the smell of burning flesh.

Ash littered the grass, a sheen of black snow. There was nothing left even for the crows to pluck. They really should have run when they had the chance.

Excerpted from The Song of Wrath by Sarah Raughley. Copyright © 2022 Sarah Raughley. Published by Margaret K. McElderry, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.