Bibliography

Plot Summary:  Ordinary Phoebe meets extraordinary Mallory in seventh grade, and they become better than best friends, inseparable.  Years later when Phoebe meets Mallory’s brother, Ryland, she falls for him hard only slowly coming to realize that neither Mallory or Ryland are exactly what they seem.  When she discovers what they really want, she must decide to be extraordinary to survive.

Critical Analysis:  I read this book weeks ago, but I have been thinking about it ever since.  In this book, even more so than the previous (Impossible) Werlin builds an amazingly intense suspenseful story focused on a small select set of of characters.  Add to this the elements of fairy, friendship, family, history, loyalty, love, and self worth and you have something that is much more than another thriller and beyond another teen paranormal romance.  I am in awe of Werlin’s writing and character and world building skills.

That being said, something about the construction and plot of this book leaves me feeling separate or apart from the characters and the action.  But again, as I type this, I can even see the genius there.  Phoebe herself and in the end Mallory as well are separate and apart from their world.  Phoebe would not be Phoebe nor Mallory Mallory if they were able to turn to a supportive network of family and friends.  Again Werlin has written an, for lack of a better term, adult book that deserves wide readership beyond the teen area.

Review Excerpts: “In the hands of a less talented author, this would be a hot mess. Happily, Werlin crafts her characters so deftly and unrolls the story so cleverly that … readers will be under the spell till the end”–Booklist

“Werlin smoothly blends contemporary realism and fantasy, here basing the story on the real historical figure Mayer Rothschild and spinning his family’s extraordinary success into a supernatural bargain. … Phoebe’s final reckoning with the faeries tests her own inner strength; ultimately her survival depends on it — just as in the real world.”–Hornbook

“”Beguiling . . . This proudly Jewish fantasy offers a compelling tale of friendship and a refreshing antidote to faerie stories about that one special girl deserving of supernatural love.”–Kirkus Reviews

“Werlin raises interesting questions about honesty, love, and what it truly means to be ‘extraordinary.’ ”–Publisher’s Weekly

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

The program I enjoyed most was “Focus on Young Adult Romance.”  Moderated by teen librarian extraordinaire Amy Alessio featuring YA romance authors Ally Carter, Melissa de la Cruz, Simone Elkeles, and 2008 RWA librarian of the year Susan Gibberman, I wish I had recorded the whole program, but here are some highlights.

Simone on becoming a YA writer and reader:  She hated reading as a teen.  When she was an adult and had a kid of her own, in the winter they would go to the library to “mess up the kids’ section.”  She happened to pick up an Oprah book and read it straight through.  However, it was sad.  So she then picked up her first romance and loved it.

Ally on becoming a YA writer and reader:  She too was a reluctant reader, bored with the books available.  She says she went from Berenstein Bears to Barbara Taylor Bradofrd.  Then she heard about S. E. Hinton, a teen girl from Oklahoma who wrote great books, one of which was made into a movie with Tom Cruise.  Ally thought, I’m a teen girl from Oklahoma, that’s what we do.  Romance for teens is different, the happily ever after can be different from a date to a moment to a dance to an agreement to see other people.

Melissa on writing:  She writes paranormal romance for teens and teens love paranormal romance because it is a fantasy of forever love, it provides an escape.  She writes about the pleasure of reading, her parents read for pleasure and read widely.  She reads for pleasure and entertainment.

Simone on injecting romance into a book:  Romance is my focus, my characters wouldn’t be their true selves if they didn’t fall in love with this person who helps them become that true self.

Ally on injecting romance into a book:  Romance is what happens when people aren’t trying to kill you.  (Her series is set at a spy school.)  All teenage girls with crushes are spies, these girls just have the training to back it up.  Romance allows us to show another side of the characters.  It’s not realistic to portray teenage girls and not have them interested in romance.  Her characters aren’t looking for big major love, but are interested and curious about the opposite sex.

Melissa on injecting romance into a book:  Teens think about boys, sometimes it seems like it is the center of their universe, but not really, they also have family and friends who are always there.  This is what she tried to capture in her books.  I don’t set out to write a book for teens, I write a book that appeals to me.  I remember it (being a teen) misery, crushes, friends you trust so much.  Everything is a first, an adventure, love is first love.

Simone on realistic romance:  Characters must act like who they are.  Gang members fight, cuss, have sex.  Girls not so much.  Avoid teaching a lesson and teenspeak.

Ally on “clean” realistic romance:  I’m a gosh dang darned kind of person so I write gosh dang darned kind of books.  I’m not censoring myself, my 15 year olds (characters) are young because they have been in this sheltered world.  It is realistic because they are trying to figure boys out and where they fit in a man’s world.

Melissa on realistic romance:  I was a good girl, but being a teen was all about rebelling.  In my mind I snuck out, I wanted to be naughty, bad.  She lived in New York, saw how kids in the city were, the trendy scene where everyone was smoking, drinking, “so old,” living the Gossip Girl life.  Her characters may look like teens, but in reality they are 1000s of years old New York City kids.  Sometimes that gets her in trouble, when one of her characters had an affair with a 40 year old, editors wanted to make them a little younger.  I’m going to keep doing what I do because that’s what I like, write what I want to write.

Simone on diversity in YA romance:  She’s written books with Latino, Israeli and now gay characters.

Melissa on diversity in YA romance:  I’m everyone’s Asian friend with a Spanish last name.  Her Blue Bloods series has roots on the Mayflower, but other books have diverse characters.  The world of Blue Bloods allows for vampires with diverse backgrounds, like a very old Asian vampire.

Ally on diversity in YA romance:  A spy school needs to be diverse, it would be a bad spy school without diverse students.  Someone in the school can disappear in any corner of the world.

Bibliography

Plot Summary: The only thing that Scarlett March loves more than her sister Rosie is hunting and killing the Fernis or werewolves.  As children, a werewolf killed their grandmother and took Scarlett’s eye as she defended and protected Rosie.  With the help of Silas, the neighboring woodsman’s son, they determine that there is a Potential, a human who can be turned, nearby, and move to Atlanta in hopes of trapping as many werewolves as possible when they find him.  Rosie longs for a life outside of hunting, and she and Silas feel forced to hide their romance from Scarlett.  But it is Silas’s hidden secret that may destroy them all.

Critical Analysis:  This is less a retelling and more a re-imagining or expansion of the familiar Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale.  Pearce does an excellent job of building the world of the March sisters and setting the rules for the Fernis (werewolves.)  The sisters’ grandmother is dead, Silas’s father is going senile, so there is no one for them to turn to and they are forced to figure it out and fight for themselves. a typical set up for a young adult novel.  Throw in Scarlett’s obsession with her cause, Rosie’s longing for a new life, a romance of stolen moments and a huge secret and you’ve got a recipe for a novel that teens, especially girls, will gulp down before coming to ask if there will be a sequel.  The gorgeous eye catching cover doesn’t hurt either.  I’m sure I could be nit picky, I mean, do we really need to read so many long drawn out fight scenes?  Do the characters need to spend so much time on research or visiting the grocery store?  In the end, I was just happy to be swept along by the story, and I think most readers will as well.

Review Excerpts: “Hints of a dark Little Red Riding Hood in today’s often violent world as one young woman wages a never-ending war against those whom most will view as sexual predators.”–Children’s Literature

“Pearce modernizes the story of Little Red Riding Hood, creating a novel filled with bravery, romance and loyalty….teens who savor the supernatural will enjoy this suspenseful tale.”–VOYA

“Pearce is on the mark with this modern-day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood….this well-written, high-action adventure grabs readers and never lets go. Rosie and Scarlett are true heroines; smart, tough, and determined…A satisfying read with a fantastic cover.”–School Library

“Despite plenty of gore and werewolf transformations, it’s the compelling love stories that drive the tale—the sisters’ affection for each other, the first breathless flush of infatuation between Rosie and Silas, and Scarlett’s love of the hunt.”–Booklist

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Plot Summary:  Hoping to figure out what happened, sixteen year old Haley forced her father to bring her to the exact spot in Iceland where her mother disappeared a year ago.  Instead of her mother, Haley finds an ancient magic coin and is swept up in a centuries old spell.  With the help of Ari, a boy whom she just met, and several creatures from nature and mythology, Haley fights to break the enchantment without destroying herself or the earth.

Critical Analysis:  It is refreshing to read a paranormal romance that doesn’t feature vampires or werewolves.  There is something mesmerizing about the Icelandic setting and the earthquakes and springs combining with the mythologic creatures and deep old magic that seems to come from the earth itself.

Haley is very likeable, and by telling the story through her “thief eyes” the reader is there, experiencing the strangeness and newness of everything.  It is a credit to Simner that she carries the book, as for large part of the story she is lost with Ari trying to find her way back.  Based on Norse myths, I also see echoes of the Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon which also features a beserker.

If I have a quibble, it is that it all seems a little too easy, Haley and Ari’s journey back to their world and their families.  Even the climax seemed preordained although for a second I was hoping Simner would defy reader expectations by making a bold choice, she didn’t.  I suppose I can’t fault her for not writing the book as I would have liked, especially since what is there is eminently readable and enjoyable.

Connections:  To Iceland, Norse mythology, Icelandic animals and Icelandic geology, especially earthquakes and volcanoes.  In her author’s note, Simner talks about the Norse mythology that she used in writing Thief Eyes.  She has even more information linked on her blog: http://www.simner.com/thiefeyes/links.html

Readalikes:  The Northern Frights series by Arthur Slade.  While only The Loki Wolf is set in Iceland, each entry in this horror series for teens is based on Icelandic and Norse myths and legends.  (And they’re scary!)

East by Edith Pattou is a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, the story of which Thief Eyes reminded me in part.

While not a fantasy, Sea by Heidi Kling has similar themes, a teenage girl traveling to an exotic country with her father to try and come to terms with her mother’s disappearance and finding not her mother but herself with a little romance thrown in for good measure.

Review Excerpts: “Adopting figures from Icelandic sagas, Simner (Bones of Faerie) creates a captivating modern odyssey. Incorporating references to Star Wars and Norse myth alike, Simner is poetic whether writing about magic and sorcery or simply getting inside her characters’ heads…. An endnote includes information about the sagas Simner studied while writing this story—the well-crafted result may encourage readers to do the same.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“Simner has done her homework. This appealing novel centers around and embellishes Icelandic legend—specifically Njal’s Saga. Simner takes the old stories and brings them into the 21st century in this cyclical novel about the powerful relationship between mothers and daughters.”–School Library Journal

“Simner’s second book, a fantasy set in modern times but rooted in ancient Icelandic sagas, has great reader appeal. The plot is compelling-a page-turner that catapults Haley and Ari, an attractive Icelandic berserker, from crisis to crisis….The climax is a humdinger, and while the resolution is bittersweet, it makes sense and is consistent with the magical rules of the book….Light, romantic fiction with an engaging fantasy punch.”–Kirkus Reviews

Plot Summary:  Mary feels trapped–her life is lived within a tall metal fence to keep out the Unconsecrated.  Girls either get married and have babies or join the religious village protectorate called the Sisterhood.  She loves Travis but he’s betrothed to someone else so she accepts his brother instead.  But she wonders, whats beyond the fence?  She’s seen pictures and heard stories about the ocean.  She sees a path beyond the fence and wonders where it leads.  When the Unconsecrated breach the fences, she and Travis and a few others make it out to the path.  But where are they going? And how will they survive?

Critical Analysis:  Usually I have a lot of articulate observations to list here.  But this book has left me slightly speechless (wordless?)  I feel a little bit like a judge on American Idol–Carrie Ryan has it.  (Now what is it?  That’s what I’m going to try and explain…)

From the very first page, the story draws  you in.  What is this place? Who are these people?  Who are the Sisterhood?  Where did the Unconsecrated come from?  What is beyond the fence?  Are Travis and Mary ever going to end up together?

The suspense and horror are tangible, Ryan has a distinct style and tone that keep the pages turning while providing rich details, setting and characters.  The limited perspective of Mary’s point of view adds to the mysteriousness of the  time and place.  The descriptions of the Unconsecrated and their attacks, of the fear and scrambling to get away, the action is both immediate and distant.  The reader is there and a watcher.  I really identified with Mary.  Who hasn’t felt trapped by their life, their circumstances?  Who hasn’t wondered about the beliefs of their society?  This is not just a teen story but a human story, and one of grit and survival.

Review Excerpts: “Mary’s observant, careful narration pulls readers into a bleak but gripping story of survival and the endless capacity of humanity to persevere…. Fresh and riveting.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“[T]he suspense that Ryan has created from the very first page on entices and tempts readers so that putting the book down is not an option. The author skillfully conceals and reveals just enough information to pique curiosity while also maintaining an atmosphere of creepiness that is expected in a zombie story.”–School Library Journal

“Mary’s an unlikable heroine, obsessed with Travis…even as everything she knows is destroyed. But despite plot holes, more angst than action and an excess of philosophical meanderings, Mary’s story delivers what’s important: zombie apocalypse.”–Kirkus Reviews

“Ryan’s vision is bleak but not overly gory; her entry in the zombie canon stands out for how well she integrates romance with flesh-eating. The plot loses a little wind near the conclusion, but Ryan’s ability to write a nail-biting escape scene will keep most readers riveted.”–Booklist

Reviewed from publisher provided paperback copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Plot Summary:  Jill Jekel and Tristen Hyde have their own reasons for working together to compete for a prestigious chemistry prize.  Jill is hoping to win money for college, while Tristen is hoping against hope that they can discover a formula to help him before its too late.  Jekel and Hyde aren’t just their names, but their history and perhaps destiny.  This project might be just what Jill needs to confront her father’s murder, and as the work on the formula progresses, Tristen realizes he’ll have to confront his father as well.  But when Jill accidentally ingests some of the formula, will their feelings for each other survive their transformations?

Critical Analysis:  This whole book, starting with the cover art, has a feeling of mad science, of Frankenstein and yes, of course, of the original Jekyll and Hyde.   The desolate funeral in the middle of winter, breaking into the school late at night, pouring over and deciphering spidery handwritten notes, descriptions of reactions to drinking the formula only serve to heighten this feeling.  The alternating viewpoints between Tristen and Jill are also very effective, allowing the reader to see a fuller picture of events and the characters involved in them.

If I have any problem with this book, it is with the sort of unrelentingness of it all.  There is no joking or levity, no scenes of teenagers being teenagers.  Everything is super dramatic and no one ever forgets the seriousness of the situation they find themselves in.  This may be a factor of the original source material, which I recall was serious in tone as well.  And I also have to remind myself that teens often feel that way about events in their lives, giving them great weight and meaning.

I also have a quibble with the comment from the Kirkus Review about what happens to Jill when she ingests the formula.  Is it stereotypical? Perhaps, but having been a Jill Jekel in the past, I can tell you that at least for me, it rings true.  Is it a statement about society and gender?  Probably so, but I also see a sort of naivete that comes from lack of experience and not knowing that the opposite of being a good girl is not necessarily becoming a slut, but that there is power in claiming all sides of who you are.  For that matter, I’d like to argue that the effect of the formula on Jill was completely psychological, not physiological, but then this would start to sound an awful lot like a paper of literary critique.   Suffice it to say that Fantaskey’s novel is more complex and layered than it first appears.  Be that as it may, there are many girls who are Jill Jekels out there who will see themselves in this story, and many more who will enjoy the good girl/bad boy romance.  If any of them then read the source and decide to write a paper, even better.

Review Excerpts:   “Fantaskey’s (Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side) premise is creative, and there are plenty of twists to keep readers engaged—right through the fiery final face-off.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“What if Jill holds the ancient Jekyll secret, the chemical formula to create monsters out of men? Can that help Tristen? Sadly, it can’t help this novel.”–Kirkus Reviews

“This novel is filled with compelling plot devices; one particularly nice touch is the way that Jekel and Hyde alternate telling their stories, embodying a double perspective. Fans of the genre won’t be able to resist this slick genre update.”–Booklist

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Plot Summary: What Solange really wants is for everyone to leave her alone.  Almost sixteen, she prefers throwing pots and spending time with her best friend Lucy to field parties and boys.  No ordinary teen, Solange is a member of the legendary Drake vampire family with seven overprotective brothers, a serious father and a kick butt mother. As she is approaches the change, it seems like everyone is after her because of some ancient prophecy that she might be the one to unify vampires the world over.

Critical Analysis: When I first picked this up, I thought, oh, another Twilight copycat.  Vampires, romance, danger.  I liked Twilight okay, but too many similar books make me want to swear off paranormal romance for good.  With Hearts I was pleasantly surprised.  Witty, funny, and action packed, this is a story of good friends and loving family that explores the question of whether fate is set in stone.

Solange, which means solemn or dignified, is the dark to Lucy’s light.  (Lucy means light or illumination).  It is refreshing to see not one but two female teen characters in a novel like this who can not only take care of themselves, but support each other as well.  Solange refuses to leave Lucy out of the eventful days leading up to her sixteenth birthday, and Lucy refuses to give up when time is short and Solange needs her help the most.

Others in the story are just as delightful, Lucy’s hippie parents who are fully aware of what the Drake family is and encourage their daughter to spend time with them anyway.  (Lucy’s mother explains that vampires are differently abled.)  Solange’s dad is a wise and solemn patriarch while her mother is eager to defend her family from all comers.  Eccentric Aunt Hyacinth looks at everything as if it were still the Victorian times of her youth, while body guard Bruno would give his life for the Drakes.  Of Solange’s seven brothers, each has his own character, but Nicholas gets the most attention here as a slowly blossming romance with Lucy shows that he really does have a caring side beyond all the teasing over the years.  The villains are particularly bad baddies, with Lady Natasha current ruler of the vampires longing for her old lover Montmatre, as well as Hounds, Hosts, and Hel Blar and Helios Ra vampire hunters might or might not be after the Drakes as well.

Harvey’s take on the vampires legends, adding genetic vampirism and this dangerous change to the mix is refreshing, and the pace of the book is relentless in the best possible way.  Fluffy and fun with its ending never in doubt, every teen girl you know was dying to read this yesterday and will be back tomorrow to ask when the next book is due out.

Review Excerpts: “[A] refreshing take on the familiar teenage vampire drama…. builds an engaging world of vampire cultures balanced with a smart mix of darkness and humor…an emphasis on family and friendship sets this story apart.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“This fluffy series opener is fundamentally silly and derivative of everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Twilight to Harry Potter, but its fast-moving plot and refusal to take itself too seriously offer partial redemption.”–Kirkus Reviews

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Plot Summary:  In her home country, Nimira’s mother was an artist, but after her death, Nimira leaves to look for better life.  Instead, she finds herself singing and dancing in a low class music hall.  That’s where she is discovered by the mysterious and handsome Hallin Parry.  Parry makes her an offer she can’t refuse–come live with him and sing with his piano playing automaton.  But many secrets lurk in Parry’s home, not the least of which is the automaton itself.

Critical Analysis:  I really did enjoy this book.  The scenes where Nimira first comes to Parry’s home and is given good food and beautiful clothes contrasted with the subsequent scenes of exploring that same home and discovering puzzling and troubling items are very well written.  And the scenes with the automaton have a sense of joy and discovery that leaps off the page. The evil villains are sufficiently creepy and definitely bad, and the mysterious woman in the upper floors of the house raises as many questions as fears.  The plot flows along well, and when the action picks up, it is relentless and exciting.

But…for me, I am left wondering and wanting more.  What was the point of saying that this book isn’t set in an alternate England and instead making up a new world but then not giving hardly any details of the world building?  I am reminded by readers of historical fiction who ask if this story can be set and told in the present day, then how much is the historical setting really adding?  It also seems to me we find out more about almost all the characters in the story except Nimira.  I know part of the is perhaps setting up for a sequel, and even though we are not told much, I still found her charming, but still.  And finally, perhaps a small point but I felt like the fairies under the dome where mentioned  so often that the author was foreshadowing that something more was there, so in the climatic moment when nothing happened, I have to admit I was disappointed.

And yet there is an exoticness to Nimira and a gothic feel to the story as a whole.  Girls will love the romance, and the magic and the automaton add another layer to the story.  I am looking forward to the sequel to see if any of my concern might be addressed there.

Cover Controversy:  The cover at the beginning of this post is from the British edition.  Searching online will turn up much buzz about the white washing of the cover.  One such article from Entertainment Weekly can be read here.   A new cover is forthcoming from Bloomsbury.

Review Excerpts: “Debut author Dolamore draws heavily on Jane Eyre and its themes of sexual and class prejudice for her plot, reshaping the source material with skill.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“…vivid and rousing debut…Unlike similar and heftier tomes, this tale is kept under tight control with brisk pacing.”–Kirkus Reviews

Readalikes: Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermier.  Two girl cousins in early 1800s England find themselves face to face with evil magic.

The Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle.  Twin sisters share their debut season in Victorian England while hiding their magic.  But when faced with mystery and romance, a little magic might come in handy.

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Bibliography: Nayeri, Daniel and Dina Nayeri.  (August 2009).  Another Faust. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978-0763637071

Plot Summary:  Five beautiful and gifted teens are about to start at the prestigious Marlowe School in New York.  Helped by their icy governess Madame Vileroy, there is nothing they won’t do to get what they want:  academic awards, boyfriends, sports championships, social standing.  But what did they give up to get it?  And who will be hurt along the way?  What happens when some want out and others realize the true nature of where their gifts come from?

Critical Analysis:  I find the idea of this series interesting, a sort of reimagining of classic literature using a setting akin to Gossip Girl and darkness from any number of teen paranormal series.  I struggle with whether most teens are familiar with Goethe’s Faust. I studied both advanced literature and German in high school, and while I suppose I knew what a Faustian bargain was, I didn’t read and study Goethe until college.  Even then I’m not sure I really understood the whole thing.  Is this important?  I think it might be, as without the layering of the events and symbolism from Faust, I’m not sure how strong the story is on its own.

I found the action and events of the story to be compelling, suspenseful even, wondering what Madame Vileroy would do next, when the teens who were in the dark would figure out what was going on, how the more desperate teens would turn on one another next.  But without a grounding in Faust, the story and most of its characters feel very cold and one dimensional to me, except for Christian and Bice.  Perhaps that is the point?  In  a way, the authors have taken Faust and divided some of his characteristics and events that happened to him among all the teens.  Maybe for teens then, it becomes easier to see and understand that which drives each teen to make the bargain they do (or in some cases, not to make the bargain…)  I wish I were able to share this with teens to see what they think of it.

The best thing maybe would be if teens enjoyed this, then they might seek out the source material and other related novels, plays, movies that have the Faustian bargain at their core.

Curriculum Connections:  The most obvious one is to Goethe, of course.  Having studied this in the past, I highly recommend other forms of the original, including plays, operas, musicals, and movies.

Review Excerpts:  “Unfortunately the magic—especially the siblings’ “gifts”—overshadows the characters themselves, creating characters who are a bit too one-dimensional to be memorable. Nonetheless the context and dark tone will surely find a solid readership.”–VOYA

“By switching character viewpoints often, the authors keep the pace moving to an ending full of action, revelation and horror.”–Kirkus

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced reader copy

Plot Summary: Teenaged twins Alice and Lia are made orphans by their father’s death, their mother having died tragically when they were young. When Lia discovers a mark on her wrist and an ancient poem hidden in her father’s private library she starts to learn about the prophecy of the sisters. Luckily she has help from unexpected people and places, but above all else, she cannot trust her own sister who has a different role to play in the prophecy and she can’t tell the man she loves anything because she doesn’t want him to get hurt.

Critical Analysis: From the first page, this book as a decidedly gothic feel. The opening scene in a graveyard in the rain, a dark house, even darker rooms, a finishing school with a strict headmistress, a handsome suitor whose love is doomed, a boy in a wheel chair, not one but two mysterious deaths of parents, twin sisters who are friends and yet strangers. This book definitely has a lot of atmosphere, and good call on the decidedly dark and creepy cover featuring the twin statues, much better than the cover on the advanced copy which was pastel and featured a sparkly piece of jewelry.

The decision to use Lia’s limited point of view is a good one also, as the reader discovers new things at the same time that she does. However, because of this limited point of view, the reader never sees any other character besides Lia as fully fleshed out. I suppose this fits with the conventions of the genre and there are other books to follow this one, although it seems pretty clear from part way through where events are headed, Of course, many teens and readers will be happy to follow Zink along for the ride.  Some readers will feel like this book moves slowly but most won’t care as it is more like a slow burn, with events building and cumulating, heading towards that ultimate showdown between sisters and good and evil that is coming later on.

Readalikes: This reminded me a great deal, after a fashion, of the wonderful Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox which also features two teen girls with different roles to play in events that play out.  Likewise, dreams play a large role in events in Prophecy, albeit it of a different sort.  More traditional gothic tales also rose to my mind:  Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.