Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, was born the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent--and she's supposed to bring only doom to those around her. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school periliously close to the magical divide that protects settlers from the beasts of the wilderness.Eff and Lan don't know what awaits them. There are steam dragons that hover in the sky and strange creatures that could undermine the homesteaders' very existence. Eff learns magic with the other students, but something could always go wrong and she always feels a step away from complete ruin. As Eff and Lan grow older, they face challenges they could never have dreamed of, and are tested in ways that will change their lives forever.With wit and wonder, Patricia Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion that will delight fans of both JK Rowling and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
