Because It Is My Blood

Gr 8 Up–In this sequel to All These Things I’ve Done (Farrar, 2010), Anya Balanchine’s life become very complicated not long after she is released from a prison located near a future Manhattan. In her continued attempts to protect her siblings, manage her family’s standing in the mafiya world of black-market chocolate, and plan her future, the teen finds herself in Mexico where she sees the cacao business from a different angle. Here she learns about the healing powers of chocolate and its rich folkloric tradition, causing her to wonder why it was outlawed and if it were possible that chocolate wasn’t dangerous, or even unhealthy.  Anya’s on-again-off-again romance with Win Delacroix persists in spite of numerous obstacles, including her rocky relationship with his District Attorney father. Threatened by her competitors in the criminal world, she is forced to return quickly to New York to intervene in her family’s affairs. Anya finally finds a way to legitimize her family’s longstanding ties to chocolate. The sequel is not as strong as the first book–the multitude of characters, plot twists, and conspiracy theories take readers on a bit of a bumpy ride. The romance is downplayed in favor of Anya’s familial and political pursuits, but there is a satisfying, friendly relationship between Anya and Theo, a boy whose family is also in the chocolate business. Readers who enjoy mob stories and visions of future societies will be pleased. As in the first book, Zevin provokes thought about what we make illegal and why. Nora Murphy