Cooper, Constance. Guile.

Cooper, Constance.  Guile.  Houghton Mifflin/Clarion  2016  376p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-544-45171-1  ms/hs     Fantasy  VG-BN     

This fast-paced fantasy tells the story of a young girl whose world is shattered her parents die when their house burns down and her relatives send her away. In order to survive, Yoni leaves the bayous and goes to town and makes a living doing “seeings,” in which folks ask her about the guiles attached to various historic relics.

Yoni starts to find her mother’s family as she struggles to survive with the help of her cat, LaRue. It seems that LaRue has special abilities and can sense the guile. This ability might be a dangerous one for Yoni if it gets out. In addition, someone doesn’t like the idea of Yoni in Wicked Ford. Her life is threatened, so she and LaRue return to the bayous to hide.

Guile is a swift-moving story that provides readers with the mystique of the bayous and the suspense of unknown abilities.     

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Yoni Watereye and her cat try to trace her family tree and find her parents’ murderer. To survive she poses as a “pearlie” in the city.    

Families-Fiction, Mystery-Fiction                     --Linda McNeil