Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: L. Costantino

HOW to SET the WORLD on FIRE by OZMA Award-Winning Author, T.K. Riggins – Sword & Sorcery, YA, Coming of Age, Dragons

Are you looking for a magical fix this summer? Pick up the award-winning Young Adult book, How to Set the World on Fire by 2017 Chanticleer Award-Winning author for the OZMA – Fantasy Awards, T.K.Riggins and sink into a worthy example of the “school of magic” sub-genre sparked by the Harry Potter series.

In this fast-paced, good-humored story, Kase Garrick, grandson of legendary warrior Roman Garrick, takes up residence in the Warriors castle at The Academy, reuniting with his older sister Cali, a member of the school’s Scholars branch. From his first day, Kase gains an enemy in Cali’s boyfriend Niveous. Sent to the Disciplinary Room thanks to Niveous’s trickery, Kase makes fast friends with the two girls also in detention: Talen, a sweet but awkward savant, and rebellious Lenia, whose control over fire tends dangerously toward pyromania.

Kase hones his skills in weaponry while he and Lenia flirt themselves into love, while everything is building in anticipation to the Quest Series, the annual Academy competition. The teams are usually made up of four students from a single school, but Cali, Kase, Lenia, and Talen bend the rules to form their own team. They find support from the Grand Master and Professor Bright, the elements instructor, both of whom see the unusual potential in these four students.

When the Quest Series begins, the plot coalesces into an exciting journey, not only into the four corners of the realm, but also into the students’ psyches. Each of the five Events poses mental, physical, and emotional challenges for Cali’s team, The Liberati. Each student’s mental aptitude and fortitude are tested, as well, but not only by their ordeals—some teams join with Niveous’s crew to hamstring the favored four. Their malice, however, turns to alarm when it becomes apparent that The Liberati–Kase, and Lenia in particular—have powers far beyond those developed by The Academy.

Being a school of magic sub-genre, of course, one would be right in expecting the same feel and some of the same elements setting the stage as one would find in Harry Potter. For example, in this book, you’ll find former students turned evil, a headmaster, various schools within the larger school, an exciting and dangerous competition, Kase’s singular magic, and spiders. Another similarity fans will rejoice in, like Harry Potter, the author has just disclosed that this is indeed Book One of a series!

More impressively, the story holds up very well on its own, and author Riggins manages to create a world that has one foot in fantasy and the other in up-to-the-minute reality. Sage mirrors, for instance, are only slightly more magical than smartphones and the kids take selfies to prove their accomplishments. Very smart.

What Riggins also gets very right is the way he integrates words of wisdom into the competition. In one instance, the Grand Master exhorts them to: “Know who you are, but don’t be discouraged by who you are not.” And in another: “Sometimes the hardest part about finding something beyond your reach, is finding yourself first.” But avid readers will find The Liberati’s call to arms the best advice of all: “To the library!”

T.K. Riggins won the 2017 OZMA (Fantasy) Grand Prize in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards for How to Set the World on Fire!

June 26, 2018
RUTH 66 by Elizabeth Barlo – Humorous, YA, Family & Social Issues

When a banged-up old bus pulls into his family’s driveway, Charlie has no idea that the rattling junker would be his ride to freedom. For years he’d been suffering under the thumb of a cold-hearted mother and a vindictive twin sister, while his father languished behind bars for tax fraud. The only family member with whom the young man held a loving bond was his grandfather, Opa Bill. Since Bill’s recent death, Charlie has been holding it together by listening to the music he and his grandfather loved. That musical thread weaves its way throughout the story as a sort of narrative jukebox.

Now Charlie’s respectable Oma Ruth has careened back into his life in a shocking new incarnation: a freewheeling hippie in kaftan and beads, unafraid to swap barbed words with her appalled daughter, nor to insist that Charlie accompany her on her road trip. He’s dead-set against it – he’d just found his dream job at a record store – and is disgusted when his mother dumps him on her mother without hesitation.

So Charlie sets out with Ruth – and, as it turns out, with Opa Bill, whose urn rests on the dashboard. At first, Ruth’s bizarre behavior and Charlie’s resentment at being dragged along make for a very uncomfortable ride. She insists on traveling without modern technology, but when she relents and allows his iPod and a new stereo system, the thaw begins.

Although Route 66 is the road they travel as they head west, this is no travelogue about nostalgic remnants of yesterday. This is a journey of discovery: of Charlie’s strength and capacity to love, of Ruth’s ability to be honest with herself, of her secrets and those of her late husband, and of the people who will teach them along the way.

There’s the comical Count Doobie, and Jonas the Swede, who appreciates Ruth’s beauty and makes her feel truly free. There’s also heartbroken Barry, who, with his daughter Rosie, barely keeps afloat a strip joint in the middle of nowhere, Texas. And there’s even Charlie’s embittered sister Becky, who rediscovers compassion and her affection for her twin away from their mother’s toxic influence.

Above all, there’s Rosie, the beautiful young woman who pines for her missing mother and valiantly offers to become a stripper to help her father’s business. She sets Charlie’s heart and hormones on fire, turning him into a bumbling puppy before he learns to overcome his insecurities and grow into a hero of sorts. Their relationship becomes entangled in the revelation of Ruth’s secrets, but the resolution is both satisfying and a bit of a relief.

A word of caution to the straight-laced reader: Ruth has embraced the hippie lifestyle to its fullest, and so you’ll find pot-smoking, swearing, nudity, and sex, as Charlie and Rosie let loose their teenage hormones and Ruth re-engages her lost libido. But far more than that, there is love, forgiveness, and bravery on this journey, not to mention a lot of laughs, some wonderfully wacky moments, and at times exciting and literally explosive revelations.

October 19, 2017
HOW to SET the WORLD on FIRE by T.K. Riggins – Middle Grade/Young Adult, School of Magic, Fantasy

Are you looking for a magical read? Pick up the award-winning Young Adult book, How to Set the World on Fire by T.K. Riggins and sink into a worthy example of the “school of magic” sub-genre sparked by the Harry Potter series.

In this fast-paced, good-humored story, Kase Garrick, grandson of legendary warrior Roman Garrick, takes up residence in the Warriors castle at The Academy, reuniting with his older sister Cali, a member of the school’s Scholars branch. From his first day, Kase gains an enemy in Cali’s boyfriend Niveous. Sent to the Disciplinary Room thanks to Niveous’s trickery, Kase makes fast friends with the two girls also in detention: Talen, a sweet but awkward savant, and rebellious Lenia, whose control over fire tends dangerously toward pyromania.

Kase hones his skills in weaponry while he and Lenia flirt themselves into love, while everything is building in anticipation to the Quest Series, the annual Academy competition. The teams are usually made up of four students from a single school, but Cali, Kase, Lenia, and Talen bend the rules to form their own team. They find support from the Grand Master and Professor Bright, the elements instructor, both of whom see the unusual potential in these four students.

When the Quest Series begins, the plot coalesces into an exciting journey, not only into the four corners of the realm but also into the students’ psyches. Each of the five Events poses mental, physical, and emotional challenges for Cali’s team, The Liberati. Each student’s mental aptitude and fortitude are tested, as well, but not only by their ordeals—some teams join with Niveous’s crew to hamstring the favored four. Their malice, however, turns to alarm when it becomes apparent that The Liberati–Kase and Lenia in particular—have powers far beyond those developed by The Academy.

Being a school of magic sub-genre, of course, one would be right in expecting the same feel and some of the same elements setting the stage as one would find in Harry Potter. For example, in this book, you’ll find former students turned evil, a headmaster, various schools within the larger school, an exciting and dangerous competition, Kase’s singular magic, and spiders. Another similarity fans will rejoice in, like Harry Potter, the author has just disclosed that this is indeed Book One of a series!

More impressively, the story holds up very well on its own, and author Riggins manages to create a world that has one foot in fantasy and the other in up-to-the-minute reality. Sage mirrors, for instance, are only slightly more magical than smartphones and the kids take selfies to prove their accomplishments. Very smart.

What Riggins also gets very right is the way he integrates words of wisdom into the competition. In one instance, the Grand Master exhorts them to: “Know who you are, but don’t be discouraged by who you are not.” And in another: “Sometimes the hardest part about finding something beyond your reach, is finding yourself first.” But avid readers will find The Liberati’s call to arms the best advice of all: “To the library!”

A fast-paced, magical, and beautifully penned Middle Grade/Young Adult novel packed full of familiar plots and engaging characters, How to Set the World on Fire, will have you begging for more from debut author, T.K. Riggins.

July 20, 2017
The SPANISH CLUB by Danielle Burnette – Y/A, Fiction

Seven Chicago teens spend one eventful week on a chaperoned field trip to Mexico. Traveling with the intention of cultural immersion, they instead learn love, forgiveness, and some serious life lessons.

St. Francis High School Spanish Club members Brianna and her BFF Dana, along with five other friends are on a field trip that they won’t soon forget. It’s the summer before their senior year, and adulthood—with all of its attendant major decisions—looms. Flying into Mexico City accompanied by teachers Mrs. Fritz and Miss Yancy, they meet Miguel the guide, who ushers them through La Ciudad’s myriad monuments, cathedrals, and markets, as well as Teotihuacán, Guanajuato, and Guadalajara. It’s quite the whirlwind trip, with Miguel’s impassioned recounting of history adding meaning and depth for students and readers alike. Indeed, the rich imagery of the hi about astorical landmarks blossom on the page, and the descriptions of the people, the food, and the art should fire the imaginations of teen readers and instill in them a desire to travel to Mexico City and beyond.

That said, The Spanish Club is not a travel essay, but a young adult drama, stocked with classic teen yearnings, choices, vanities, and pranks. Author Burnette does a marvelous job of imbuing the narrative with colorful angst: “At once, every blemish on Brianna’s body itched and squirmed for Enrique’s attention, and she stiffened under the weight of all her imperfections.” Her characters embody every emotional high and low – especially protagonist Brianna Garrett.

Brianna is inseparable from her BFF, Dana Tate, until she discovers, with equal parts shock and delight, that heartthrob Enrique has shared her distant admiration since freshman year. A rift grows between the girls, and not only because of Enrique. Dana is jealous of Brianna’s growing friendship with dance team leader Stacia.

But boys and BFFs aren’t the only things commanding Brianna’s attention.

Before the trip, Brianna needed to acquire her passport. What she soon discovered forces a rift between the parents she always counted on for the truth. Brianna was adopted. And her parents never once disclosed the information. Now in Mexico, she rages against them and shuns their long-distance calls. But what brings eventual forgiveness is not her identity but her friend Dana.

Throughout the story, the World Cup serves as a foreboding backdrop, with the alarming zeal of local news reports of fan-related tragedies. This culminates in a frightening confrontation that departs from the story’s general lightheartedness to make a sobering point, but also, brings Brianna and Dana back together, making The Spanish Club a very good summer read for Y/A audiences.

May 30, 2017
The DRY by Rebecca Nolen – Middle-Grade Fantasy/Adventure

This middle-grade fantasy sends a determined 12-year-old into a coal mine to find his missing father. Instead, he finds a phantasmagoria deep inside the earth, where first appearances can’t always be trusted. Heads-up to insectophobes: You’ll encounter plenty of creepies crawling through this spine-tingling adventure for middle graders.

It’s 1895 and years before child labor laws when Elliot Sweeney’s father fears for the town’s children, who are being sold to the company running the coal mine and never seen again. When his investigation swallows him up as well, Elliot, apprehensive but resolute, sets off to find him. Along the way, he picks up increasingly strange objects, companions, and stalkers: a watch that runs backward, a fierce girl named Lefty, a mysterious key, a blind burro named Beulah, a rat-faced mine recruiter. But that’s nothing compared to what Elliot and Lefty find once they enter the secret entrance to the boarded-up mine.

Like Tolkien’s Mines of Moria, this underground realm is palatial and studded with stone carvings and gems. And like Moria, within the cold beauty of this place called Penumbra is an ugly truth. Here Elliot and Lefty discover the lost children living in brutal conditions, mining gems for the cruel and vainglorious Wicked Prince of Every Place. Forced to work with their hands and without their shoes, the children’s blood gives power to the prince’s Water Moon, which absorbs all water, above and below ground. Hence, the title of the book, The Dry.

Elliot’s father is here too, weakened and powerless to defeat the vast army of insects and amphibians under the prince’s command: giant wasps, salamander servants, evil beetles, stinging caterpillars, and more.

And here is one of author Nolen’s greatest strengths: creating talking critters who not only possess unique personalities but suffer moments of existential crisis as well. Chief among these is Morrigan Wasp, Foundress of the United Vespid Kingdom, who imprisons Lefty but, after much soul-searching, realizes she is as enslaved by the prince as are the children. Morrigan helps Elliot escape to the other side of the mountain, where he finds the diminishing water queen Tosia, whose watery world is receding. Emboldened by his escape, Elliot rallies the creatures there—otters, dragonflies, horses—into the climatic, and inevitable war between good and evil.

Kids, teens, and fantasy-loving adults will find much to marvel over in this classic hero’s journey through a strange land that tests his courage at every turn. While the myriad of invertebrates may at times overwhelm the youngest readers, we encourage you not to fear; Elliot Sweeney is a bona-fide twelve-year-old hero, one who perseveres in spite of his fears and because of his unwavering love for his father, his new friend, and justice.

March 14, 2017
Gateways by Jessica Schaub – Y/A Fantasy

Mind bending is one thing, but when teenager Victoria Nike paints her landscapes – and then falls through them into another dimension – you know you’re in for a treat in this charming and intelligent fantasy, Gateways.

There are many similarities between Victoria’s story and that of Dorothy Gale: the emerging of special powers, real or imagined; companions both human and beast; an ultimate confrontation with a wicked witch.

That said, in Gateways, Jessica Schaub has created a wonderful fantasy that takes readers on a journey into parallel worlds, where mages – beings who can invoke the elements and use their energy – coexist with sphinxes and other fantastic beasts. It’s also a tale of self-discovery, of innocence lost and wisdom gained. Schaub succeeds in placing teenagers into a story of mystic powers and magical without her characters losing their modern savvy and their wisecracker-y. This refined skill in storytelling keeps the elements of this story believable.

When Victoria sees her mother’s growing distress, she notices her world changing in subtle ways as well. She retreats into the art room at school, where she paints. When she abruptly finds herself inside of her painting, she has no idea of how to climb out. Her art teacher, Anna Witherspoon, comes to her rescue. Anna is a Painter of gateways, and so, apparently, is Victoria.

When she returns home, Victoria and her twin best friends, Tucker and Bobby Martin, are told by their parents to flee. “No matter what,” Mr. Martin tells his boys, “keep her safe.” Victoria takes Tucker to hide with her inside a painting of a forest.

But that particular painting holds a prisoner, Lucian – a fallen mage accused of murder. Lucian wastes no time in escaping with the painting – the portal leading back to Victoria’s world – and so she, Tucker, Bobby, and Anna have no choice but to set off to recapture him in order to stop him from perpetrating further harm.

This is a coming-of-age novel, and much like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Victoria learns that things aren’t always as they seem. Bad people turn good, and good turn bad. Family history enlightens and relationships shift. But that is life and Victoria realizes that though her world has suddenly opened into ever-expanding opportunities, there truly is no place like home.

A great read with a magical – air-bending quality that will draw the reader in and not allow them to leave until the very last page.

February 8, 2017
The AURORA AFFAIR by Carolyn Haley

A psychedelic ride through a world of mystics and musicians, rock concerts and psychic powers with the car-racing supermodel, Madeline LaRue, in the driver’s seat, trying to make sense of it all.

Madeline has been summoned to New Atlantis, the estate of her twin sister’s boyfriend, rock superstar and cult leader, Dru Montclair. Upon her arrival, Madeline sees auras around the guests, including her former lover, turned roadie, Buck Williams, and the sinister promoter, Raoul Lamont, who, she intuits, is stalking Dru.

Despite her energy readings, Madeline resists her psychic abilities, and even more so when her sister, Blanche, asserts that Mad will destroy the evil encroaching on the rural Vermont compound.

That is until Madeline’s prophetic dreams and visions come true.

While re-examining her beliefs, Mad is also preoccupied with the concept of soul mates whom she believes stimulate her psychic powers. The only trouble is, she can’t determine whether her soul mate is Buck or Kit Douglas, the handsome jack-of-all-trades. Kit has the ability to set off her visions, along with her pheromones and sexual cravings. Both men are at times suspect, as is the enigmatic and arrogant Dru. Her sister’s boyfriend invades Mad’s dreams and forces mystical challenges on her, yet ultimately needs her power to keep the Evil One from destroying both him and his New Atlantean world.

Whether or not you believe in the supernatural and mystic philosophies, Haley’s story will thrill you with its feverish pacing, plot twists, and ever-unfolding action. Madeline makes a bewitching protagonist: multi-talented, free-wheeling, and quick-tempered. She’s equal parts skeptic and believer, seeking truth and power through the ritual of intimacy. However, the love scenes are never explicit or overlong, and just descriptive enough to imply a sacred sexuality. This restraint pairs well with an abundance of inspired language. The sky was “a Parrish blue pricked with stars,” the valley a “cauldron of liquid gold,” an aura that was “gas-burner blue.” Lovely stuff.

As suspense builds, the psychic warfare ratchets up. Madeline wants to leave New Atlantis but gets pulled back by indecision, persistent visions, and the chance to hide out while contemplating the nature of reality. Then, just as the compound returns to routine, Raoul’s psychic attacks come back with a vengeance, forcing Mad to not only accept her psychic powers but push them to their limits and beyond. This book is a pleaser for those who are drawn to fast action, fun, and a trip on the wild side.

December 22, 2016
The ORDER of the LILY by Catherine A. Wilson and Catherine T. Wilson, a captivating and breathtaking14c tale

Twin sisters separated at birth, one cosseted in a lavish lifestyle, the other hidden away behind convent walls meet through letters. In Book 1, The Lily and the Lion, the sisters Cécile d’Armagnac and Catherine Pembroke begin to puzzle out the political reasons behind the separation. They finally are united, but soon their lives are threatened by the power-hungry William Montagu, Earl of Salisbury. Separation being safer than staying together, the sisters part ways once more, this time as fugitives.

This second installment opens with Cécile and Catherine on the run with their protectors, the knights Simon Marshall and Gillet de Bellegarde. Cécile, having sacrificed her virginity to Edward, the Black Prince, to save her sister’s life, lies in the hull of an England-bound ship, sick from pregnancy and the rough seas. When the Prince’s men commandeer the vessel, Catherine quickly returns the favor by masquerading as Cécile. She’s whisked away to the Prince, while her sister continues to England.

Lovers’ misunderstandings ensue in the two kingdoms. Cécile and Gillet spar prettily at his Kent family estate, passion and jealousy taking turns as her belly blooms and lovers both threatening and tempting appear. Catherine, on the other hand, quietly falls for Simon, who masks his affection as he keeps her safe from the Prince’s lustful eye. Catherine’s charade lasts only until Salisbury uncovers the truth, compelling Catherine and her cadre of protectors to find a way to escape.

Their route, however, carries its own agenda. Simon takes Catherine first to a monastery, and then on to the Paris seat of the Knights Templar, as he continues his quest to find the missing, mysterious Lady of Scotland. It’s a subplot that fits into the sisters’ breathtaking saga when the Earl of Salisbury appears, seeking the Lady as well as Catherine. The chase ends at her beginnings, at the convent in which she grew up. Danger quelled for the time being, relationships are allowed to blossom, both for Catherine and for Cécile, whose day of happiness is embellished by an unspoken mission Gillet must attend in the near future.

This teaser caps a string of events that carry the story forward with expert pacing, passionate entanglements, and a rich language full of clever colloquialisms and a good deal of humor. In contrast, however, the scenes of subjugation remind us of the maltreatment of women that was common and condoned by society. Early in the tale, Cécile is shocked to see Gillet’s sister-in-law routinely beaten by her husband, and then horrified to find her encased in a scold’s bridle. Cécile’s attempt to help the woman results in being subjected to harsh punishment for interfering.

If there’s one positive outcome to this horrible subjugation is that Cécile stands up against injustice–no matter what the cost. And that is the arc of Book 2: the sisters finding their power in a cruel era of patriarchal oppression. To witness this maturation shines a hopeful light on the third book of the series, The Gilded Crown. The authors have written a captivating and historically accurate story with characters that are vividly portrayed.

Historical romantics of all ages will enjoy this rollicking affair that continues the story of spirited twins who do battle with cruel relatives, nefarious noblemen, misunderstood suitors, and above all, the constraints on women’s power in 14th-century England and France.

October 10, 2016
BLACK CROW WHITE LIE by Candi Sary

After years of moving from motel to motel with his alcoholic mother, Carson Calley has grown old enough to start questioning his gypsy life. The stories he’s been told – father died a war hero, a past life as a medicine man – slowly unravel as the 13-year-old begins to spread his wings.

However, of all his mother’s stories (I’d wouldn’t lie,” she assures him, “the gods … plant things in my head”), Carson knew one was true – he did possess the gift of healing. Since his earliest days, his hands would fill with heat and then emit tiny “stars” that soothe his mother’s tortured heart and frequent hangovers. Yet despite this power, Carson also experienced rages that he can’t control, an anger seated in his mother’s frequent long absences. To distract himself, he grabs his skateboard and wanders the streets of Hollywood.

Author Sary adroitly captures the real Hollywood: streetwalkers, grit and grime, tattoo parlors and head shops and gangs of idle youth. She also portrays its denizens free of stereotype and with a lyric eye: Carson’s mother “had a worn-out kind of beauty – like a thirsty flower.” Of Carson’s few friends, tattoo artist Faris “looked like a live page from a comic book,” while Casper, the albino owner of a local head shop, “looked like he had a light bulb inside of him.”

Faris gives Carson gruff, fatherly advice, world-weary insight into his mother’s issues and stories, and the boy’s first tattoo: a small black crow to remind him of his father, who, he’s told, killed a crow with his bare hands. Casper offers something else: when Carson heals his deaf ear, the head shop proprietor sets up a back room where the boy can practice healing.

Accepting her son’s readiness to heal, his mother arranges for him to work with a mentor: Lolo, a healer and an actress. Unfortunately, Lolo digs a little too deep into her part. She puts the idea of raising the dead into the teen’s mind, and he immediately decides to fly to Washington, D.C., and bring his father back to life. He needs to earn some money first, though, so in the meantime, he heals people during the day and skateboards with a gang of stoner kids at night. At school, a classmate, Rose, torments his heart. It’s a tenuous existence, but it’s all life offers Carson.

And it doesn’t last. His mother’s drinking increases as her longtime boyfriend, Jackson, toys with her heart. When she goes into rehab, Carson questions the truth of all she’s told him. Lies begin to unravel. Carson makes the trip to D.C.’s Cemetery of Heroes, but what he finds is more painful truth, followed by an even greater shock when he returns home. Carson’s faith in all he knows is shaken to the core. Can the healer heal his own heart?

A writer with a casual but empathetic voice, Sary succeeds in portraying teen angst without melodrama, in depicting compassion without sentimentality, and in creating a world of characters on the margins of society whose depth and complexity outshine any Hollywood hero.

Black Crow White Lie by Candi Sary earned a First In Category position in the highly competitive Dante Rossetti Awards for Young Adult Fiction, a division of Chanticleer Reviews International Writing Competitions.

March 19, 2015
An Editorial Review of “Spirit Legacy” by E.E. Holmes

Spirit Legacy is an engaging Young Adult paranormal/thriller novel that follows a sharp-witted young woman with, as she puts it, “isolationist tendencies,” whose discovery of her psychic talents is only the beginning of her singular coming-of-age journey.

Jess Ballard knows how to survive—she has to, having spent her life on the move with her alcoholic mother, whose personal demons kept them running. When Elizabeth Ballard dies in a fall, Jess heads to Boston to attend St. Matthew’s College, and to shelter in the care of her aunt Karen. All of Jess’s life, Elizabeth had been estranged from her family, including her twin sister, without explanation. Karen proves to be equally elusive, and a visit to Jess’s grandfather in a nursing home leaves the 17-year-old even more uneasy about her family’s history.

For a while, that uneasiness takes a back seat to the busy distractions of college life. Her Goth style and whip-smart attitude serve her well: she brooks no nonsense from rivals nor admirers and is protective of her obsessively neat roommate, Tia. In Jess, Holmes has given us a charismatic character whose dialogue and observations are perceptive and imaginative—Jess is an excellent model for how to value your self-worth and embrace your differences.

She’s also human. Torturous nightmares, in which voices call out to her, plague her sleep, making it difficult to keep up with her coursework. Seeking refuge and quiet study time one night in the library, Jess meets an attractive but enigmatic young man. Mentioning his name to a professor the next day brings surprising consequences and a psychiatric referral—because Evan, the young man, happens to be dead. But taking ghostly form doesn’t keep him from writing a plaintive message in her textbook: “Help me. Find Hannah.”

Jess and Tia search in vain for the mysterious Hannah. Another visitation, this time from a little boy who’d died the previous night, impels Jess to enlist the help of the college’s professor of parapsychology, David Pierce. With his assistants, they conduct a paranormal investigation of the library, which begins like an entertaining episode of “Ghost Hunters” before taking a terrifying turn when Jess, alone in the bathroom, is accosted by a ghost, with many more waiting to pass through her.

When she recovers, Jess learns about the Durupinen, an ancient line of human portals through which restless spirits need to pass in order to reach the other side. With much difficulty, she draws the truth of her family history out of her aunt Karen.

E.E. Holmes’ tale starts out strong and just keeps getting stronger, revealing a storyline that’s believable in large part to its well-drawn characters, its accurate depiction of college life, and the familial compassion that surfaces along with the long-held secrets.

Spirit Legacy is the first book in The Gateway Trilogy by E.E. Holmes. Spirit Legacy won a Dante Rossetti Award for Young Adult Fiction 2013, First Place, Thriller Category.

May 24, 2014