Until the Beginning

March 1, 2015
Picking up right where it left off, the story that started with After the End (2014) continues.In trying to find her vanished clan, Juneau has met and fallen for Miles, the son of a wealthy pharmaceutical company owner. At the book's opening, a gunshot Miles has died, but Juneau performs her clan's Rite to bring him back to life and possibly extend his life for hundreds of years, disease-free. As she mentally Reads the emotions and surroundings of her distant father and others, Juneau begins to detect where her kidnapped clan is being held. She travels the Southwest, finding a hidden reserve where billionaire Hunt Avery has imprisoned her clan, but she learns something new: Avery really wants Juneau. Plum keeps tension high as she follows Juneau across the country, mixing in enough romantic spice to satisfy genre fans. Juneau's old mentor, Whit, offers scientific explanations for the clan's superpowers, but Juneau, secure in her mystical spirit connections, holds to her beliefs. After flirting with Whit's explanations, Plum comes firmly down on Juneau's side. Of note is Juneau's relationship with the clan's special raven messenger, named Poe, adding some intertextual fun. Although she concludes the series plot, the author leaves some latitude for future adventures. Different enough from all the rest to keep genre fans reading. (Paranormal suspense. 12-18)

May 1, 2015
Grades 8-11 Teenage pharmaceutical heir Miles lies at death's door as his story takes up where After the End (2014) left off. To save him, Juneau, who grew up in an isolated community in Alaska, has administered her clan's mystical chemical elixir, a substance that suspends aging and enhances health. Powerful corporations, including one owned by Miles' father, will stop at nothing to obtain this elixir, including kidnapping Juneau's clan. The perspective alternates between the teens, who are both out of their element, falling in love, and learning to adapt. Something of a slow burn, but a satisfying conclusion to the companion stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)