If The Night Circus and The Prestige were a queer romance, and a commentary on The American Dream! <3 <3 <3

I loooove that this book provides a safe space for queerness; no one is vilified for loving who they love. I needed Jack and Wil's love story, and both the historical romance genre and the YA paranormal romance genre also NEEDED Jack and Wilhelm.

This historical romance is a particularly /American/ story. I love that this book is an honest look at the heart of American history. It doesn't sugarcoat the ugly parts: The history of exploitation, appropriation, racism and abuse. But also it celebrates the good parts: The ingenuity, hope, wonder and wanderlust. Multiple characters personify the good and the bad of the American frontier. And the theme of the younger generation inheriting the abuses and expectations of the older - that they could be starved with false promises and still believe in a brighter future - got me right in The Feels. America is The Thief and The Dreamer side by side, and I am aaaaall about that hard look in the mirror.

Messages aside, getting into the nitty-gritty mechanics: This is a GOOOOOD BOOK!!!! SWOON!!! I read a lot of YA. A LOT of YA. And certain words and phrases get recycled over and over and over again....snore. THIS author sat his SAT's XD. He opened a thesaurus, or swallowed a dictionary, or something! There were words in this book that /I/ had to look up! This book is smart. It is smart in its characterization, it's witty dialogue, its word choices, its poetry... PRAISE BE!!! Thank you Shaun David Hutchinson for elevating YA, thank you for bringing fresh writing to a genre oversaturated with lust and longing and thoughtlessness. Thank you!

I will say, though... The only criticisms I have that might knock off half a star...
1) Why does each PoV switch have a location and date stamp? The setting of the book never changes without in-universe discussion, and it largely DOESN'T CHANGE, so... The stamp seems irrelevant. The author could have gotten away with just stating the name to give us the PoV for each chapter.
2) I don't believe the reasons for Jack leaving Wil trapped for so long. I just don't. The clear and present immediate danger is more important than the hypothetical threat of Teddy could do in the future. I was practically screaming at the book for Jack to just abscond with Wil and hide out somewhere. Yes yes there's a whodunnit, and the book needed to justify the time it would take for Jessamy to crack the case. And yes yes this is a love story about magicians, so there's the clear echo of a great escape trick... But I just have a really really hard time swallowing my disbelief THAT much XD. That Jack and Wil could picnic in a rowboat by day, and Jack would escort Wil back to his literal cage by night... But whatever, I had faith in the characters, and they had faith in each other, and it all works out, so... I guess I can't be TOO mad XD.

I love this book, it stole my heart!!! I will be following this author for sure! More. Of. THIS!!!!