TWIN FLAMES

When djinn start to show up in twins Leila and Bianca's small Virginia hometown, the only way they and their families will survive will be if the twins can get past their differences and start to act like sisters again.

Twins Bianca and Leila could not be more different from each other. Being both Argentinian and Iranian in a small town has always been hard, but with Leila shunning her heritage and Bianca embracing it, the two walk very different paths. They run in different circles of friends, and barely talk anymore. Leila's a homebody who loves to craft and plans on marrying her high school sweetheart. Bianca's more anti-establishment and plans to get out of their small town as soon as humanly possible. But on their eighteenth birthday, the neighbor's barn is burned down--and it doesn't seem to have been caused by anything normal. When Leila encounters a mysterious monster arising from the fire, suddenly she gains strange powers--and can no longer touch iron. What are these creatures and where are they coming from? What do they want with Leila--or other people in town, for that matter? Can the twins learn to rely on each other--and their cultures--to banish them? It'll take a sisterly reconciliation for the girls to find out and to save their hometown in this New Visions Award-winning fantasy adventure. Olivia Abtahi is a film director and writer. Born to an Iranian father and Argentine mother, she is a melting pot of distinct cultures. She is a graduate of NYU Film School and VCU Brandcenter, from which she holds a BFA and MaSC. Abtahi's debut novel, Perfectly Parvin (Putnam Books for Young Readers, 2021) received the SCBWI Golden Kite Honor, YALSA Odyssey Honor, and numerous starred reviews.