Eve, Laure. The Graces.

Eve, Laure.  The Graces.      Amulet see Harry Abrams  2016  340p  $18.95  ISBN 978-1-4197-2123-6  hs  Supernatural  VG

River moves into a new town with her mother. At school she finds that making friends is hard, but she is intent on becoming friends with Summer Grace, one of the three Grace siblings, whose family members are purported to be witches. The secretive family is loathed but intriguing to the community because of suspicious events that take place at their house. River’s life has not been easy, with her father mysteriously leaving the family and hints that she had to take medication after he left. The writing is superb, with carefully selected vocabulary that invokes unique environments, supernatural spells, and feelings that are palpable. There is a consistent push and pull in the rhythm of the plot, with feelings that impact the characters and yet entice the reader to move through the philosophical sections to the action sequences. With River wanting to learn magic spells, she and the Graces explore dark magic in hopes of breaking the curse that separates the Grace family from the larger community. A romantic subplot arises between River and Fenrin Grace, who is the handsome twin of Thalia Grace. The ending is so unexpected that it will rock readers who expect a typical happy ending. There are alcohol-fueled parties and a gay love affair, but these are necessary parts of the plot as it unfolds into a horrendous calamity and quasi resolution. Could there be a sequel in the works?

Summary: When River moves to a new town, she becomes enamored with the Grace family, who are reported to be witches. As she becomes friendly with Summer Grace, she is drawn into their dark world. There are many surprises by the end of the book. Grades 9-12.

           

Witches–Fiction                                       --Lois McNicol

Smith, Ronald L. Hoodoo.

Smith, Ronald L.  Hoodoo.  Houghton Mifflin/Clarion  2015  208p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-544-44525-3  ms   Supernatural  E-BN     

In Ronald Smith’s character Hoodoo, the author has created a masterpiece.  Readers take the journey with this young African-American, a journey into the world of conjuring, spells, evil and the afterworld.  What is amazing is that this world is so aptly described and believable that the reader will close the book at the end and breathe a sigh of relief for poor Hoodoo, believing as he does that his powers are real.  Hoodoo has some rather charming character traits, not the least of which is the way he looks at life and the way he speaks right to his readers, often explaining the meanings of words, finishing with “if you didn’t know.”  To begin with, young Hoodoo lives with Mama Frances.  His daddy has passed.  In the first chapter, he meets the Stranger, a spirit man who is looking for him, but for what reason, Hoodoo does not know.  Hoodoo begins to feel creepy, often dreaming about the Stranger and also having visions that he cannot comprehend.  His best friend Bunny is with him when his challenge is revealed by Mrs. Snuff, the carnival’s fortune teller.  She warns Hoodoo  of the darkness that follows him, advising him to help his family, whose fate he holds in his hands.  The plot thickens when the town’s cemetery is broken into.  Someone has chopped off the hands of the dead.   Much of the rising action involves Hoodoo’s search for answers, the realization that he has conjuring powers that he must learn to harness, and the revelation of the real story behind the death of his father.  From that point on, the pace is quick, the action is intense, and the confrontation, satisfying for young readers.  This does not feel like a debut novel; rather, it reflects all of the solid writing skills of a more experienced author.  It is unique, and that is not easy to find these days with the glut of books about dystopian societies, teen angst or abused children.      

Summary: Hoodoo must figure out why the Stranger is trying to find him, how to protect his family from him, and how to use the conjuring powers which his family suspects he possesses before it is too late.       

Occult-Fiction                                        --Martha Squaresky

Rownen, Michelle. Reign or Shine (Demon Princess).

Rownen, Michelle. Reign or Shine (Demon Princess).
Walker & Co 2009 284p 9.99 978-0-8027-9534-2 hs

Nikki thinks someone’s stalking her just after her 16th birthday, but it’s Michael, a “Shadow” messenger, to tell her that her Demon King father is dying. Sixteen-year-old Nikki thinks someone’s stalking her just after her birthday, but it’s Michael, a “Shadow” messenger, come to tell her that her never-known Demon King father is dying. There’s lots of intrigue--her aunt Elizabeth is willing to follow as Queen of the Shadowlands (that protects our world from Hell)--and even humor and romance. Lots of choices to be made, a few unpredictable, that could impact her life forever. Should Nikki take the potion or remain a “Darkling” (half human)? Follow Michael (forbidden to her) or not? Tell high school social queen Melinda the truth? Better written than many popular copycat vampire titles and will be popular with high school students looking for more supernatural among us. Beginning of a series that will continue with the Faery King coming to high school, too. Gooden, Sue

Creive, Megan. Give Up the Ghost.

Creive, Megan. Give Up the Ghost.
Henry Holt 2009 244p 16.99 978-0-8050-8930-1 ms/hs

Cass could not tell you when it all started, but one minute she was popular and the next she was an outcast. She knows who started it, but she does not understand why. Now her only friends are ghosts! Yes, Ghosts! She can see ghosts ever since her sister died the year before. Cass could not tell you when it all started but one minute she was popular the next she was an outcast. She knows who started it but she does not understand why. Now her only friends are ghost! Yes, Ghost! She can see ghost ever since her sister died the year before. With her life school life falling apart, Cass was shocked when her home life and her family suffered the loss of her sister. Now her sister’s ghost keeps her company all the time. At school for some reason Cass can the see the teen ghost that haunt the school. She has adopted an attitude of ‘I don’t care”. And for the most part everyone leaves her alone. Then one of the in crowd begins to follow her and keeps asking her about ghost. Turns out he just lost his mom and he is looking to communicate with her. His biggest problem though is that fact the he is depressed and drinking. How on earth can Cass help him if she can barely help herself. A great story of loss and despair with plenty of humorous moments. Kids will love it. Diaz, Magna

Kaye, Marilyn. Demon Chick.

Kaye, Marilyn. Demon Chick.
Henry Holt 2009 215p 16.99 978-0-8050-8880-9 hs

A daughter is sold to the devil before she is born so that the mother can have political power. Jessica reaches her 16th birthday without really ever knowing her mother because she spent her life in boarding schools. Then just when she is lead to believe she will have time with her mother, she is taken to Hell to live before she even knew what life really was all about. Jessica Hunsucker considered herself a mousy kind of girl who knew how to fade into the background. With her dull brown hair, the braces on her teeth and her thick glasses, there would never be a glamour life for Jessica. Then she gets a call that she must be ready to go home. This from a mother who has never had time for her. Jessica barely knows who her mother is and has only had a few words with her in her whole life. Could it be possible that her mother has finally decided to spend time with her? Her mother assistant meets Jessica at the door and whisks her away to get a new look. This is a surprise to Jessica as she learns that she can change her hair color, gets contacts and her braces are taken off. She should have suspected something when the braces came off before they should have. The new Jessica was glamourous and beautiful! She look like everything she always wanted to be but she had yet to meet her mother. That night Jessica waited and waited for her mother but she was once more disappointed and was sent to bed with the promise that she would see her mother in the morning and her mother would see the new Jessica then. Morning never came because Jessica was taken that night to Hell. It was then that she discovered the truth about her new look and her mother’s evil intention. Her mother had already sold Jessica at birth and it was time for the devil to collect and in return her mother would get the political power she wanted but she has evil plans for the destruction of the world. When Jessica discovers the truth about her mother’s evil plan, Jessica must escape Hell and return to earth to set things right but can she do it in time to save the people of the world? An exciting, humorous supernatural love story with a satisfying ending. Diaz, Magna

Doyle, Marissa. Betraying Season.

Doyle, Marissa. Betraying Season.
Henry Holt 2009 330p 16.99 978-0-8050-8252-4 ms/hs Penelope Leland goes to Ireland to study to be as good a witch as her twin sister Persy. However, she does not count upon the affections of young Niall Keating being so distracting to her studies. This novel takes place in Ireland during 1838. It is the story of a young girl coming of age and also learning to embrace her powers as a witch. The readers will get a glimpse into the social customs and taboos as Penelope is courted by Niall. They will also gain an insight into the secrecy surrounding the practice of paranormal powers. Penelope is a spirited young lady who doesn’t hesitate to stretch the customs of the era when it suits her. She is constantly causing some uproar . The plot thickens when Niall’s mother, who is a Sorceress herself, demands that Nialll get Penelope to fall in love with him. But true to most romantic plots, everything backfires when Niall falls deeply in love with Penelope and crosses his mother. It is a romantic and magical story of a young girl who comes to understand her powers and her heart’s inclinations. Young readers will enjoy this novel and want to read the first book about the twins, Bewitching Season. Supernatural McNeil(3), Linda

Larbalestier, Justine. Liar.

Larbalestier, Justine. Liar.
Bloomsbury see St. Martins 2009 376p 16.99 978-1-59990-305-7 hs Liar combines the original writing style of Justine Larbalestier with current popular topics, in this case the werewolf, and adds the drama of an inner city teenagers and a murder and creates a truly unique novel. Liar combines the right ingredients to make a high school student turn each page in anticipation. In How to Ditch Your Fairy, Larbalestier shows us creativity whereas in Liar, she has gone to the next step in what will be a very successful writing career. The reader wants to believe Micah, but this protagonist is an edgy, independent, teenager who has two problems, she is a compulsive liar and she is a werewolf. The reader is led through a maze of chapters which have titles like “Before”, “After”, and “Family History” in which Larbalestier divulges lie after lie and finally, truth after truth, maybe! After the brutal murder of Micah’s boyfriend, everybody is suspected of the crime. Micah knows she didn’t do it, but as a werewolf, could she have torn Zach apart during one of her runs through Central Park? It doesn’t help that she is stalked by another teenager who appears from time to time throughout the book. Despite being a pariah at her school, she is befriended by Zach’s best friends briefly; however, it is in the unraveling of Micah’s life details in which the reader relishes each chapter. Micah takes her daily pill to prevent her transformation to werewolf, but this is not enough to keep her parents from discovering that they have made a mistake in keeping her in the city. They return her to the Greats, Micah’s paternal family, who resides on a farm in Connecticut, where she learns what is most important to her in life is to follow her dream of becoming a researcher and biologist, especially of DNA, in order to learn all about werewolves and horizontal gene transfer. Even at the end, we wonder if Micah is telling the truth! Maybe the entire novel was a lie. Squaresky, Martha