Transcendence by C. J. Omololu

325 pgs.
Target audience: Young adult
Rating: Wizard

On a visit to London with her dad and sister, Cole, a gifted cellist, gets a very up close and personal view of Britain’s history. Objects and places keep triggering intense visions of places and times from the past she doesn’t know. She thinks she’s going mad. When she passes out after a particularly gruesome vision of her own execution on a visit to the Tower of London, a handsome young stranger named Griffon Hall helps her. She feels a strong connection to this boy and upon returning home to San Francisco discovers he lives nearby. Her disturbing visions become more frequent the more time she spends with Griffon. He tells her that like him she is an “Akhet,” a person who can remember past lives and use this knowledge for good. Of course not all “Akhet” uphold this philosophy. Her visions now seem to focus on a Italian cello player involved in a murder. The book builds slowly centering around Cole’s thoughts about her visions which are depicted in italics. Once she and Griffon discover that a rogue “Akhet” is after her, the pace picks up dramatically as they race to find out what exactly happened all those years ago and how to fix it. The closer she grows to Griffon, the more she withdraws from friends and family. Her love for classical music is a constant underlying theme. Cole is a realistically drawn character with whom teens can easily identify. This romantic mystery hints at a sequel and will be sure to appeal to teens who enjoy paranormal romance. Recommend to fans of Die for me by Amy Plum.

The  compelled. Vampire diaries, Stefan’s diaries; v. 6.

L. J. Smith
222 pgs.
Target audience: Young Adult
Rating: Wizard

Stefan and Damon Salvatore are brothers bonded by blood and with completely opposite views on vampirism. Damon likes the devil may care, do what you want, take what you need approach. Stefan prefers the quiet life with humans hiding his true nature. The pattern is always the same – Damon creates a mess and Stefan cleans it up. These diaries are a chronological account of Stefan’s life as a vampire. The current crisis finds them in London in the late 1800’s  battling against a particularly vile and extremely deadly vampire named Samuel Mortimer, a foe whom they’ve failed to vanquish once already. Samuel has succeeded in compelling his way into the back pockets of the wealthy and the powerful. All he needs now is the heart of a purebred witch and he can take his final vengeance out on the Salvatore brothers whom he blames for killing his beloved Katherine decades earlier. A young girl, Cora, recently rescued from Samuel’s clutches joins forces with Stefan and Damon as well as a secret coven of witches to bring down Samuel and save the city of London. These volumes may be read individually with the understanding that they reflect a timeline. The author does fill in a few blanks about Katherine, the woman who started it all. This fast paced, thrilling vampire adventure pulls you in immediately with familiar faces and a wonderful cast of secondary characters. The London of Jack the Ripper is portrayed quite well. What is most compelling about this story is the relationship between the two brothers, their motivations, their choices, how their vampire nature reacts to each other and the human world around them. Instead of the Twilight saga, recommend this series to fans of vampire fiction.

(Book provided for review by children's lit www.childrenslit.com )

The Haunting of Nathaniel Wolfe by Brian Keaney
233 pgs.
Target audience: Age 9-12
Rating: Wizard

Are ghosts real or just a figment of our imagination? Hidden in the foggy depths of the East End neighborhood of Victorian London is Cicero Wolfe, a medium whose seances attract the poor, vulnerable masses desperate for closure. But his son Nathaniel who greets the guests knows the truth. His dad is an imposter, a gambler, a con artist, a man who squanders every penny he earns on gin. Young Lily Campion is a kitchen-maid for the wealthy Chesterfield family. Her mistress, Sophie, has taken ill suddenly just like her mother before her. Lily and Nathaniel's worlds collide when Nathaniel recovers Lily's stolen purse from a well known thief, Maggot Harris. The last thing Nathaniel expects to see during his father's latest performances is an actual ghost but the woman in white keeps appearing to him attempting to tell him something. Unexplained phenomena are occuring in Lily's workplace as well. They discover that the woman in white is Lily's late mistress, that Maggot Harris has been found murdered with a receipt for arsenic in his pocket and that Mr. Chesterfield is up to something most unsavory. Kids will love following clues as Lily and Nathaniel solve the ghostly mystery. Keaney creates a brilliantly detailed portrayal of Victorian London from the winding streets and shops, to the authentic dialogue and vocabulary to the well drawn characters. This is not a scary story, but rather a supernatural puzzle. There is plenty to like about this first volume of a promising new series.
(This book was provided for review by children's lit - www.childrenslit.com )