Death, Doom, and Detention

February 15, 2013
Demons, prophets, possession, hot Angels of Death! Sixteen-year-old Lorelei's parents were killed by a vicious demon, an act she witnessed at age 6. After the demon took care of her parents, he jumped straight into Lorelei's body, and she's been possessed by him ever since. Now she's living with her grandparents in Riley's Switch, N.M., and discovers that she's a prophet, descended from a long line of tough, powerful women who help safeguard the world from the forces of evil. In her first novel for teens, Jones struggles to strike a balance between the everyday lives and conversations of her teen characters and the supernatural plot trajectory she sends them on. Dialogue takes precedence over plot just as saving the world takes a back seat to school, crushes, pizza, studying and other blase activities in the lives of Lorelei and her friends. Things do pick up when Jared, the dark, misty-eyed Angel of Death whose job is to protect Lorelei, disappears. But the action dissipates soon afterward. Additionally, Jones makes some awkward jumps in setting that make it hard to tell where the action is taking place. Things get especially confusing when all the characters (Lorelei, her BFF Brooklyn, a half-human/half-angel boy named Cameron and their tech-nerd friend Glitch) all show up together in places teens normally wouldn't be, such as asleep on the floor of Lorelei's bedroom in the middle of the night. What results is a contrived, confusingly fluffy stop-and-start supernatural romance that's best left on the shelf. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)

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October 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-In this sequel to Death and the Girl Next Door (St. Martin's, 2012), Lorelei is still the chosen one-the 16-year-old prophesied to stop the end of the world. In addition to all of that pressure, Lor must also contend with the demon inhabiting her. There to help Lor are her childhood friend and sworn protector, Cameron (an Angel/Human hybrid with superpowers), and her ex-boyfriend Jared (who also happens to be the Angel of Death). Rounding out the group are less-intimidating, but more-amusing friends Brooklyn and Glitch. After the arrival of a creepy new kid at her New Mexico high school, the students start acting strange, actually murderous-rage-for-no-particular-reason strange, and it's all directed at Lor. Despite Cameron's and Jared's overbearing bodyguard behavior, the chosen one is in serious danger. Lor is also at odds with her grandparents for keeping her away from Jared, keeping secrets, and conspiring to send her away. Forbidden love, jealousy, imminent apocalypse... they're all here! It's Clary with Buffy's friends-you really can't go wrong with this snazzy supernatural tale.-Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

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