While Tamsin lacks the One Vision, or the ability to see magic, her encyclopedic knowledge, preparedness, and suspicious nature balance her brother’s approachability, humor, and rare abilities as an Expeller who can deflect curses. Through mythology and despite the dangers, a teen seeks the cure to her brother’s curse.Įver since their guardian disappeared 7 years ago, Tamsin and Cabell have been Hollowers, adventurers who recover magical artifacts for fame and fortune. An adolescent-seeming effort that may well please many adolescents, which is fine. She doesn’t build suspense, merely throwing it on the page, and indulges in some odd imagery-“He smelled comforting, like grapefruit and leather”-and frequently clunky writing. Indeed, the author portrays all characters as extreme and keeps them static. Hopcus spends time with student romance, music, fashion and gossip, often abruptly jerking the narrative into the next scary scene with another dream or an ultra-villain. Zach and the rest of the “townies” are genetic mutants with supernatural powers, and Phe herself has ties to a chthonic Greek goddess. Phe has dreams that tie her to the town and meets an elderly lady who personally knew Phe’s previous incarnation in the 1730s. She meets Zach, an impossibly handsome boy to whom she’s instantly attracted. Fifteen-year-old Persephone (“Phe”) attends an exclusive New England prep school with a secret past. This hefty supernatural debut thriller has many elements of commercial success but few of the literary kind.
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