Red Glove by Holly Black

What You Need To Know:  Cassel and his fascinating world of magic and crime return, in this strong second volume of The Curse Workers. 


Summary:  After discovering his gift, and how his brothers misused it, Cassel has more problems then ever.  Mom's out of jail, working her own game, and the girl he adores has been cursed to love him -- which sucks.  But when Cassel's brother turns up dead, and the feds want his help, he'll have to run the greatest con of all to make it out alive. 


What works:  Cassel Sharp is awesome, and Black nails his voice.  An honorable guy in a deeply dishonorable world, he's far from perfect.   Cassel is tempted, and makes mistakes just like any high school age guy would.  What makes Cassel awesome is that he uses his brains and skills to get himself out of trouble, and Black avoids the "magic fixes EVERYTHING" problem that fantasy writers can fall into. 


Although the central mystery at the core of this book is slightly less compelling than the first Curse Workers volume, Black manages to keep the suspense high, and work in a few surprises along the way.  As always, the world building is expertly done, showing instead of telling, and all in service to the story. 


What Didn't:   To me, the political subplot felt trite and overdone.  Yes, its good for a zinger in the end, and Black does her best to work it into the central mystery, but all in all, I could have lived without it.   


Who would I give this book to:  I think that this series would be a great choice for kids who grew up on Harry Potter, but are ready to move on to darker fare.   Guys who like the paranormal, but are iffy about romance would like it too.  

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

What You Need to Know:  This is a romance-y spin on the current Greek Gods trend, featuring a strong heroine and an interesting premise.

Summary: Kate Winters has spent the last several years waiting for her mom to die, living to care for her, and shutting out everyone else.  Now, as her mom reaches end stage, Kate has come to Eden, Michigan, her mom’s hometown, to wait for the inevitable.   Eden is the smallest of small towns, and Kate attracts the attention of mean girl Ava.   When Ava dies playing a prank on Kate, a mysterious stranger named Henry appears from nowhere and offers Kate a deal – Henry will reanimate Ava, if Kate will agree to live in his home from Fall to Spring.   Eventually, Kate takes Henry up on his offer, but discovers there is more to the request.  See, Henry is Hades, and since Persephone’s death millennia ago, he has ruled Hades alone.  Now, he has little time left to find a queen, or else loose his purpose, and his existence. 

What works:  This is an interesting take on the Greek pantheon, that they existed before the Greeks gave them names, and have continued to exist after.  Kate is a likeable heroine, and her reasons for accepting Henry’s offer are clear and understandable.  Kate’s mom, Diana, is also an interesting character, who gives her daughter excellent, if not exactly selfless, advice.

As for Henry, he is a very engaging guy.  A little broody and aloof, but the reader can understand why Kate wants to save him. 

All through the book, the reader knows something HUGE that Kate doesn’t.  For me, this made the book an interesting experiment   -- my knowledge makes me see the characters differently than Kate does. It created a tension that I liked.    

What didn’t:  Is it written on a scroll somewhere that ALL YA paranormals must include a love triangle?  In this one, its between Henry, Kate and another god named James.  James is a twitchy bag of ticks, and more than a little underhanded, and why Kate might feel something for him is never clear.

The “Goddess Test” in the title is actually a series of 7 tests, but Kate doesn’t know when they are happening or what the tests even are.  So while the book is engaging, there is no epic quest, no training, and no huge denouement.  Kate lives in Henry’s home and… hangs out.   It’s a little bit of a bait and switch.

Verging into spoiler territory,   the “twist” at the end of the book left me feeling flat.  No, I didn’t see it coming (although Carter does drop hints, if you know what to look for) but it also felt a little contrived, and opened up some huge questions about the universe Kate and Henry live in. 

However:  The above makes it sound like I didn’t like the book.  But I did.  I liked it more than a lot of YA paranormal romances.

Who Would I Give This Book To?  Teen girls looking for more paranormal reads, who have had it with vampires,.  teen fans of Percy Jackson who liked the romance angle.    

Review copy downloaded from NetGalley. 

Mercury by Hope Larson

What You Need to Know: This is a beautifully drawn, historical romance with a modern twist, that might be a hard sell for some teens.

Summary:  Tara is returning to school, following a fire that destroyed her home, a family farm, forcing her (odd) mother to move away for work.  A strange necklace found in a box unwittingly connects her to Josie, a distant relative of Tara's from 1859.  Josie lives on the same farm, and like Tara, watches over her high-strung mother.  A stranger finds gold on the family farm, but can he be trusted with the gold, much less Josie's heart?  And, hundreds of years later, how can Tara keep her mother from uprooting her and loosing their heritage? 

What Worked: Larson is an amazing artist, and this black and white novel is beautifully illustrated, with expressive characters and a quiet charisma.  Josie's love story is charmingly told, bittersweet and poignant.  Larson also does a great job of involving you in Josie's story -- you desperately want everything to work out for her.  This book also has one of the most arresting and unique covers that I have ever seen.  It becomes more and more interesting the longer that you look at it.  

What Didn't:  Larson counts on the parallel structure to do a lot of heavy lifting for her.  We don't ever see Tara's mom, she's just a voice on the phone, and an offhand comment from others.  We see a lot of Josie's mother though, and can extrapolate from there about Tara's mom.  I admire an author who trusts her audience enough to let them connect the dots; however, I'm not sure that it worked as well as it could have.  Tara's romance is a little more obtuse, and didn't add much to the story.  Also, the more overt supernatural elements in this book -- such as the animal spirits --  felt slightly out of place, and a little tacked on.  

However: My tolerance for supernatural flourishes is very low.  Your mileage may vary.  

Who Would I Give This Book To?  Teens looking for a different sort of paranormal romance, and those who like their historical fiction with a twist. 

The Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller.

The Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller.
Razorbill,  978-1595143082
Release Date: August 10, 2010


Haven Moore has lived her entire life in rural Tennessee.  Ever since she was young, Haven has had visions of a life that was not hers.  As Haven grew, she suppressed the memories of Constance and Ethan, a pair of doomed lovers from turn of the century New York.  When the visions return, Haven is compelled to leave Snopes City and seek out Ethan, who she believes has been reincarnated as a notorious playboy, Iain.  She also seeks the help of the Ouroboros Society, a group dedicated to helping those with memories of past lives.  However, neither Iain or the Society is what it seems, and Haven finds herself on her own, not knowing who to trust.


I am not the target reader for this book.  Star-crossed lovers, meeting across time, fated to relive old patterns -- the whole concept puts me off.  It’s to Miller’s credit that I found this book both engaging and suspenseful.