Celestial | The Phoenix Pencil Company

The Phoenix Pencil Company

Allison King

Save to Your Books

100% of affiliate revenue supports Celestial

In this dazzling debut novel, a hidden and nearly forgotten magic—of Reforging pencils, bringing the memories they contain back to life—holds the power to transform a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, and to mend long-lost connections across time and space.

Monica Tsai spends most days on her computer, journaling the details of her ordinary life and coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. A self-proclaimed recluse, she's always struggled to make friends and, as a college freshman, finds herself escaping into a digital world, counting the days until she can return home to her beloved grandparents. They are now in their nineties, and Monica worries about them constantly—especially her grandmother, Yun, who survived two wars in China before coming to the States, and whose memory has begun to fade.

Though Yun rarely speaks of her past, Monica is determined to find the long-lost cousin she was separated from years ago. One day, the very program Monica is helping to build connects her to a young woman, whose gift of a single pencil holds a surprising clue. Monica’s discovery of a hidden family history is exquisitely braided with Yun’s own memories as she writes of her years in Shanghai, working at the Phoenix Pencil Company.

As WWII rages outside their door, Yun and her cousin, Meng, learn of a special power the women in their family possess: the ability to Reforge a pencil’s words. But when the government uncovers their secret, they are forced into a life of espionage, betraying other people’s stories to survive.

Combining the cross-generational family saga and epistolary form of A Tale for the Time Being with the uplifting, emotional magic of The Midnight Library, Allison King’s stunning debut novel asks: who owns and inherits our stories? The answers and secrets that surface on the page may have the unerasable power to reconnect a family and restore a legacy.

Get the Bindery app

Posts about this title from Celestial

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Feb 19

magical family trauma books

💭 do you love exploring tough topics through speculative fiction?

give me ALL the magical generational trauma books, please and thank you!

📚 books mentioned: - The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King - Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott - A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

👗💄: - dress is from Amy Jane London (rented from Nuuly) - eyeshadow is The Lord of the Rings Middle Earth Palette from Glamlite and The Spring Symphony Palette from Dandy Lion Cosmetics - eyeliner is Vegan Longwear Eyeliner (Lilac) from Pacifica Beauty - lip combo is Staining Lip Liner (La La La) from Kulfi Beauty and Gloss Up Sheer Finish Lip Gloss (Quiet Luxury) from The Lip Bar - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Atria Books, William Morrow and Knopf Doubleday for the gifted copies!

#fantasybooks #magicalrealism #fantasybookrecs #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @atriabooks @williammorrowbooks @aaknopf @amyjanelondon @glamlite @dandylionsco @pacificabeauty @kulfi.beauty @thelipbar

fantasy books • books exploring generational trauma • magical family trauma books • fantasy book recommendations • magical realism books • diverse books

4 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 29

i’m back with more AMAZING books that utilize a second-person perspective

i’m back with more AMAZING books that utilize a second-person perspective, even just for a little bit! get ready to be emotionally destroyed by most of these (i’m not sorry).

📚 books mentioned: - In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado - The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow - Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King

👗💄: - sweater dress is from Farm Rio, rented from Nuuly - eyeshadow is In A Trance Palette from Colourpop and You Make Me Happy Palette from KimChi Chic Beauty - lip combo is Lippie Pencil (Seduction) from Colourpop and Magic Drip Glitter Lip Gloss (No Fux Fuschia) from Half Magic - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to William Morrow for the gifted copy!

#secondpersonpov #fantasybooks #bookrecs #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @graywolfpress @amazonpublishing @pantheonbooks @williammorrowbooks @farmrio @nuuly @colourpopcosmetics @kimchichicbeauty @halfmagicbeauty

book recs • second person POV books • books written with a second person narrator • fantasy books • unique fantasy book recs • science fiction books • memoir book recs • diverse books • Graywolf Press • Amazon Original Stories • Pantheon

4 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 8 2025

💭 what’s your favorite 2025 book?

drum roll please … welcome to the THIRD annual StarrySteph Book Awards! no questions at this time!

📚 books mentioned: - The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones - The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King - Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei - Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd - Detained: A Boy’s Journal of Survival and Resilience by D. Esperanza and Gerardo Iván Morales - Fate’s Bane by C.L. Clark - Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto - Magic in the Melanin by C.M. Lockhart - Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi - Love Be Damned by Briana Garrett - The Coven Tendency by Zoe Hana Mikuta

👗💄: - dress is from Free People, rented from Nuuly - eyeshadow is In Trance palette from Colourpop - lip combo is Lingerie Lip Liner Stain (Send Nudes) and Jelly Job Gloss (Honey, It’s Jelly) from NYX Cosmetics - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Saga Press, Tordotcom, William Morrow, Flatiron, Atria/Primero Sueño Press, Harper Voyager, Ingram, Get Underlined, and Disney Hyperion for the gifted copies!

#goodreadschoiceawards #starrystephbookawards #bestbooksof2025 #bestbooksoftheyear #2025books #fantasybooks #scifibooks #horrorbooks #bookrecs #starrysteph #nycinfluencer #diversebookstagram #nycbookstagram #bookstagram #SagaSaysCrew #sagapressbooks #SagaSays #TorPartner #WilliamMorrowPartner #atriapartner #FlatironPartner #HarperVoyagerPartner #GetUnderlinedPartner #ingram @sagapressbooks @tordotcompub @williammorrowbooks @flatiron_books @haymarketbooks @atriabooks @primerosuenopress @harpervoyagerus @writtennmelanin @ingramsparkbooks @getunderlined @disneybooks @freepeople @nuuly @colourpopcosmetics @nyxcosmetics

12 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Nov 10 2025

which one convinced you the most? 🙌

which one convinced you the most? 🙌 part twenty-two of one star goodreads reviews of books i enjoyed!

📚 books mentioned: - Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu - The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones - Model Home by Rivers Solomon - Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori - Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant - The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei - You Weren’t Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King - I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea - Fire and Ice by Erin Hunter

thank you to Vintage, Saga Press, Grove Press, Flatiron, and William Morrow for the gifted copies!

#onestarreviews #negativebookreview #bookreviews #goodreadsreviews #booktokhumor #nycinfluencer #nycbooktok #starrysteph #SagaSaysCrew #sagapressbooks #SagaSays #grovereader #FlatironPartner @ireadvintage @sagapressbooks @mcdbooks @groveatlantic @orbitbooks_us @flatiron_books @williammorrowbooks @fiercereads @harpercollins

10 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 30 2025

today, I SHALL LIVE!!

(this is a follow up to a video i shared last week where i yapped about books in which i would, unfortunately, gruesomely perish.)

📚 books mentioned: - The Wild Robot by Peter Brown - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King

👗💄: - blue mascara is the electric blue tartlette tubing mascara from @tartecosmetics - eyeshadow is a combo of three sparklestiks from @halfmagicbeauty - dress is from @celiabdesigner - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and William Morrow for the gifted copies!

#bookopinions #fantasybooks #literaryfiction #bookhumor #littlebrownbooks #WilliamMorrow #delrey #starrysteph #nycinfluencer #diversebookstagram #nycbookstagram #bookstagram @littlebrownyoungreaders @delreybooks @williammorrowbooks

3 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • May 1 2025

magical & mystical sapphic books that hit every time! 📚

magical & mystical sapphic books that hit every time!

📚 books mentioned: - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King - Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia - But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo

thank you to @williammorrowbooks, @getunderlined, and @tordotcompub for the gifted copies!

#fantasybooks #fantasybookrecs #sapphicbooks #sapphicbookrecs #magicalbooks #magicalrealism #horrorbooks #GetUnderlinedPartner #starrysteph #nycinfluencer #bookstagram

3 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Feb 19

magical family trauma books

💭 do you love exploring tough topics through speculative fiction?

give me ALL the magical generational trauma books, please and thank you!

thank you to Atria Books, William Morrow and Knopf Doubleday for the gifted copies!

fantasy books • books exploring generational trauma • magical family trauma books • fantasy book recommendations • magical realism books • diverse books

4 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 29

i’m back with more AMAZING books that utilize a second-person perspective

thank you to William Morrow for the gifted copy!

4 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 8 2025

💭 what’s your favorite 2025 book?

drum roll please … welcome to the THIRD annual StarrySteph Book Awards! no questions at this time!

12 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Nov 10 2025

which one convinced you the most? 🙌

which one convinced you the most? 🙌 part twenty-two of one star goodreads reviews of books i enjoyed!

thank you to Vintage, Saga Press, Grove Press, Flatiron, and William Morrow for the gifted copies!

10 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 30 2025

today, I SHALL LIVE!!

(this is a follow up to a video i shared last week where i yapped about books in which i would, unfortunately, gruesomely perish.)

📚 books mentioned: - The Wild Robot by Peter Brown - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King

thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and William Morrow for the gifted copies!

3 books

The Inkborne Society\ \ Azhangia\ \ • Jun 29 2025

Join for free

My Top 3 of the Month \ \ ⭐ 5.00 - Martyr! (Kaveh Akbar)\ \ Martyr! was the star of this month and an absolute masterpiece. Following an orphaned son of Iranian immigrants who is obsessed with the idea of martyrdom, Martyr! delves into themes of grief, addiction, mortality, morality, family, and more, all brought to life through writing that is deeply evocative and piercing. I am still processing the last few chapters, but wow, what a book. \ \ ⭐ 4.25 - A Forbidden Alchemy (Stacey McEwan)\ \ I ate this romantasy up!! Set in a world in which children are whisked away to the capital city to get tested for magical potential at the age of 12, a fated pair uncover a world-changing secret and are thrust into a violent class war, navigating love, loss, and devastating betrayals. This book had solid pacing, dynamic relationships, betrayals that kept me on my toes, and overall, was an exciting and engaging read. I know some people hate the love triangle, but the tension in this one was SO good and I think it's definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of the romantasy genre! \ \ ⭐ 4.00 - Assassin’s Quest (Robin Hobb)\ \ And so, my journey with the Farseer trilogy comes to an end. Robin Hobb’s character work really brought this story to life, and by the time I finished this book, I felt like I had lived several years with these characters. While I thought the pace slightly dragged at times, overall, this was a solid conclusion to the series and I was satisfied with Fitz’s story arc. \ \ Other Reads and Ratings: \ \ ⭐ 4.00 - The Phoenix Pencil Company (Allison King)\ \ The Phoenix Pencil Company features a hidden and nearly forgotten magic - of Reforging pencils, bringing the memories they contain back to life. I was really interested in how this book was going to explore generational storytelling, and I loved the family saga aspect of the tale. However, I thought other elements (mostly those involving the romance) were not well-executed and detracted from the impact of the story. Overall, still a solid debut!\ \ ⭐ 3.75 - The Vanished Birds (Simon Jimenez)\ \ In The Vanished Birds, a mysterious child lands in the care of a solitary woman, changing both of their lives forever. I really enjoyed the lyrical prose, but the book felt disjointed at times, with the first chapter feeling almost like a completely different story. That said, this is a space opera that takes readers across space and time, and I did appreciate Jimenez’s innovative storytelling.\ \ ⭐ 3.75 - Crier’s War (Nina Varela)\ \ Crier’s War is a sapphic YA sci-fantasy book about the impossible love between two girls - one human, one Made - that could birth a revolution. I first added this book to my TBR back in November when I was looking for books like Arcane, and I am happy to report that the main character in this book did have some Cait and Vi vibes! However, this story wasn’t particularly original or memorable, and I do not plan on continuing the series. \ \ ⭐ 3.50 - Black Salt Queen (Samantha Basil)\ \ I really wanted to like this one, but ultimately, I struggled with how flat the characters felt and the surface-level storytelling. I did appreciate the Filipino cultural inspirations and thought the story had a lot of potential though!\ \ ⭐ 3.50 - Immortal Consequences (I.V. Marie)\ \ The premise of this book caught my eyes months ago (boarding school at the edge of the afterlife sounded so intriguing), but this is another book that unfortunately didn’t work for me because of how stale and underdeveloped the characters all felt. That said, I do think there are readers out there who would enjoy this fast-paced, plot-driven YA dark academia fantasy!\ \ Note: June has been a very busy month for me on the personal side of things, so I apologize for the lack of activity on my Bindery. July will also unfortunately be a busy month for me, but hopefully I will have more time to post in future months. Thank you for sticking around, and let me know if there's anything you want to see!\ \ Join for free or login

June Reading Wrap-Up: Ratings & Reviews

Some thoughts on the eight books I read this month!

8 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • May 1 2025

magical & mystical sapphic books that hit every time! 📚

magical & mystical sapphic books that hit every time!

📚 books mentioned: - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King - Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia - But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo

thank you to @williammorrowbooks, @getunderlined, and @tordotcompub for the gifted copies!

3 books