Splinter & Ash

New York Times–bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp's middle grade prose debut is an immersive medieval fantasy starring queer and disabled young heroes. For two young misfits, a dangerous quest to save their kingdom will also mean saving each other. For fans of B. B. Alston’s Amari and the Night Brothers, Soman Chainani’s The School for Good and Evil, and Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books.

Ash—or Princess Adelisa—is the youngest child of the queen, recently returned to the city of Kestrel’s Haven after spending six years on the other side of the country. Ash was hoping for a joyous reunion, but the reality is far from it. Her mother is holding the kingdom together by a thread, and under constant threat; her brother has only taunts and jibes for her; and court is full of nobles who openly mock and dismiss Ash, who uses a cane and needs braces to strengthen her joints.

Splinter is the youngest child of one of Haven’s most prominent families. She’s fierce, determined, and adventurous, and she has her sights set on becoming a knight just like her older brother. Even if everyone says she can’t because she’s not a boy. So what? She’s not a girl, either.

A chance encounter throws Ash and Splinter into each other’s orbits, and they find friendship in their shared loneliness and their desires to prove themselves. The princess and her new squire know they will face bullies and snobs, but they never expect to uncover a shadowy group of nobles plotting to overthrow the queen. When Ash is abducted, it’s only with sharp daggers and sharper wits that she and Splinter will be able to find a way out of danger—and only together will they be able to find their way home.

The first in a trilogy, bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp’s medieval fantasy is an action-packed love letter to non-binary, queer, and disabled kids. Splinter & Ash evokes the classic adventure and atmosphere of fantasies by Lloyd Alexander and Tamora Pierce, and the fresh, inclusive lens of writers such as Rick Riordan, Angie Thomas, and Soman Chainani. It invites everyone—no matter who they are or what they look like—to fight for what they believe in.

Marieke Nijkamp (she/they/any) is the author of the middle grade graphic novel Ink Girls as well as  several books for young adults, which include #1 New York Times bestsellers, a critically acclaimed anthology, graphic novels, and comics. She studied philosophy and medieval history, and when she isn't writing, she loves to garden, roll dice, and daydream. Marieke Nijkamp lives and writes in Small Town, the Netherlands.