Here are the four candidates for the duPont-Ball book club this semester. Read about all of them, then vote for your favorite!

1) A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. A "gaslamp fantasy" novel set across multiple parallel Londons. Kell has the rare ability to travel between them, and serves as an emissary from Red London to the turbulent White and dull Grey. But he also serves as a smuggler, illegally transporting people and goods between worlds, until a job gone awry reveals a threat that imperils every London. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0765376466/

2) Educated: a Memoir by Tara Westover. A memoir recounting the author's unusual childhood and matriculation, born into a family of survivalists so far outside mainstream society that she did not set foot in a classroom until she was seventeen. Her journey takes her from the mountains of Idaho to the halls of Harvard and Cambridge. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399590501/

3) Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. A science fiction novel following an all-female expedition sent into the mysterious "Area X" to investigate its biological anomalies. Adapted to film in 2018, Annihilation is a slim but weighty volume exploring the nature of consciousness and biological life through cosmic horror and beautiful natural imagery inspired by Florida's wetlands. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374104093/

4) I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett. A YA fantasy novel. As the witch of the Chalk, Tiffany Aching performs the distinctly unglamorous work of caring for the needy. But someone—or something—is inciting fear, generating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. Tiffany must find the source of unrest and defeat the evil at its root. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062435299/