Haven

January 1, 2011

What begins as a magic-school story turns into yet another star-crossed romance between vampire and hunter. Violet has always kept her psychic visions a secret, but at Winterhaven, her new boarding school, every student has a paranormal "gift." On her first day, Violet notices mysterious, aloof mega-hottie Aidan Gray, who reads her thoughts and speaks to her inside her mind. Aidan and Violet begin a slow courtship even as Violet grows closer to her three new friends, a healer, a telekinetic and an astral projectionist. Nearly half of the book's 400 pages pass before the two big reveals: Aidan's secret identity and the depth of Violet's own powers. Despite some dragging exposition, tension builds as Violet works to prevent her dark visions from coming true. Moments between Violet and Aidan crackle with sexual longing, though Aidan's refusal to physically consummate the relationship—as well as his taking charge of developing Violet's paranormal powers—often feels patronizing. A final sweeping fight scene provides needed resolutions while opening the door for a sequel. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-When Violet's stepmother leaves for a new city and a new job, the teen chooses to go to a boarding school. Her roommate, Cece, and her new schoolmates explain that Winterhaven is a school for people with psychic gifts. Violet has tried to hide her gift of precognition and hated it because she saw bad things happen to the people she loved. She starts to have visions about a boy to whom she is inexplicably drawn. Aiden is pale, gorgeous, aloof, can read minds, and has other "gifts." Sound familiar? Yes, he is a vampire. He is using the chemistry lab to find a cure for vampirism. While at a school dance with Violet, his research is destroyed. Someone is trying to stop him. Violet's visions show Aiden covered in blood, and she fears that she might be his killer. Should she risk her life and soul to save him? Cook uses well-known vampire lore and twists it a little to create her own vampire/psychic world. She also uses Violet's visions to foreshadow the plot and keep the pace of the novel. Violet is an average teen with special "gifts," but development of her personality and powers are lost to her immediate and overwhelming obsession with a boy she barely knows. Average paranormal fare that is aimed at Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series (Little, Brown) fans.-Samantha Larsen Hastings, Riverton Library, UT

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 Violet has never fit inshe is the weird girl who has seizures. Only she knows that the seizures are actually psychic visions, always violent and always about someone she loves. Now, during her junior year, she has an opportunity to start fresh, and fit in, at Winterhaven, a boarding school in New York where everyone has psychic abilities. There she makes new friends, and the cutest guy at the school, Aidan, seems mesmerized by her. But then the visions reappear, and this time she sees Aidan in a pool of blood, apparently killed by Violet herself. Cooks first YA novel reads like a blend of the Gemma Doyle trilogy, the Twilight saga, and Lois Duncans thrillers, and it will find a wide audience among female fans of gothic novels. With a brooding, almost hypnotic atmosphere, the storys pace is relentless. Even though the reader often figures out the truth (especially Aidans being a vampire) long before Violet does, these discoveries will not take away from the tales appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)