A New Darkness

Gr 8 Up—The tale of Tom Ward from "The Last Apprentice" series (HarperCollins) continues. At 17, Tom is no longer an apprentice, but the Chipenden Spook after the death of his master. As a Spook, Tom's job is to protect his territory from ghosts, ghasts, boggarts, witches, and any other beasties that threaten the villagers. Reluctantly, he takes on his own apprentice, a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, named Jenny. Jenny and Tom encounter a formidable new threat, the Kobalos. The Spook calls on his alliance with the witch, Grimalkin. Together, the three travel north to watch the spectacle of Kauspetnd, a deadly Kobalos assassin who has been challenging human champions to a fight to the death and always wins. The trio hopes to find out more about the Kobalos, but little does Tom know that Grimalkin has a much bigger plan. A plethora of action involving ghastly creatures, sword fights, and magic coupled with just enough backstory and description make this novel engaging enough to keep even the most reluctant reader turning pages until the end. Tom's story has a doozy of a cliff-hanger that is sure to bring teens back for more. Delaney fans and new readers are sure to enjoy this first book of a planned trilogy.—Mindy Whipple, West Jordan Library, UT