Let the Sky Fall

Gr 8 Up—Vane, 17, is haunted by the memory of a beautiful dark-haired girl who appeared during the tornado that killed his parents 10 years earlier. He doesn't realize he's not human until Audra appears and tells him of their shared heritage as Windwalkers, or sylphs, air elementals who can command the wind. Her father died protecting Vane from enemies called Stormers, and she blames herself for calling their attention to his family. She has taken up her father's duties and been specially selected by the Gale Force as Vane's protector. With danger imminent from Stormer warlord Raiden, she has to train Vane to harness his powers as the last of the Westerlies and master the languages of all four winds. And she must also fight her forbidden attraction to Vane, who is betrothed to the sylph princess. Told in the alternating voices of Vane and Audra and set in California's Coachella Valley, this is an interesting reversal of the usual magical girl who doesn't know she's special paranormal trope, and sylphs are a nice change from vampires, werewolves, and fairies. The story is a little slow at first, possibly because of the world-building in the beginning, and only really picks up when the pair battle the Stormers near the end. This first of a series ends with a cliff-hanger. Recommend it to Twilight fans.—Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ