Fragile Spirits

Gr 8 Up—In this companion novel to Shattered Souls (Philomel, 2011), the focus turns from the previous work's protagonists, Lenzi and Alden, to a secondary character, Paul. He is a Protector-destined to serve a Speaker-who is finally getting his chance to be paired with a Speaker-who hears voices of the dead. Paul has been looking forward to the moment of his pairing for a long time and is shocked to find that his match is not as enthusiastic. Pink-haired, black lipstick-wearing Vivienne has only agreed to be joined with a Protector because she wants revenge. Spirits have been speaking to her since she was a child, and she has done her best to ignore them. Now the teen has finally decided to heed the calls of the dead after her mother and aunt are murdered. The narrator does his best to work with the rebel despite her misgivings, and when they uncover the identity of the malevolent spirit that killed her family members, Vivienne will stop at nothing to have her revenge. While a small amount of background information is given, readers not familiar with the first book will likely feel that there are missing gaps to this tale. The underdeveloped plot and characters may also pique little interest in the story line. With so many paranormal fantasies available, teens will likely pass this one over.—Erienne Jones, Guilford County Schools, Greensboro, NC