When the Sea is Rising Red

January 9, 2012
Romancing a vampire and a human rogue at the same time might be many girls’ idea of a dream come true, but 16-year-old Pelim Felicita is not enjoying herself. After the suicide of her only friend, she escapes her noble family for a life in the slums, scrubbing dishes in a teashop and trying to lie low. The attentions of Jannik, a “bat” lordling, and Dash, an “arrogant little gutter-dandy,” make it difficult for Felicita to remain anonymous. Her struggles become more than personal when signs of a boggert appear—a parasitic spirit that drains the essence of the living to maintain its presence. A strong magic-wielder, Felicita might be able to forestall the doom that a boggert forebodes, but only at a terrible price. The first-person narration is solidly in character and carries the story with excellent pacing. Debut author Hellisen’s style features evocative descriptions and unflinching detail, drawing readers into the unusual and intriguing elements that make up Felicita’s socially complex world. Ages 12–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, Nancy Coffey Literary.

January 1, 2012
The scion of a fading magical aristocracy flees an arranged marriage and finds herself caught in a rebellion against her own people. Felicita is made of stronger stuff than her friend Ilven, who responded to her own betrothal by hurling herself off a rocky cliff. Felicita, instead, flees into the slums disguised as a half-caste prostitute. She's high-Lammer, one of the much-loathed colonizing overlords of Pelimburg, but she washes dishes for pennies and tries not to starve among the olive-skinned Hobs. She lives on the mercy of Dash, a Hob--squatter? landlord? criminal? charismatic rebel?--who draws Felicita into his anti-Lammer schemes. Dash plans no mere armed revolt, but a manipulation of wild magic older than the entire Lammer occupation. A seeming love triangle among Felicita, Dash and the well-to-do vampire Jannik is more complicated than the usual; Felicita is drawn to Dash but still mourns the lost Ilven, and Jannik courts Felicita while pining after Dash. There's some clumsy stereotyping in the worldbuilding: Jannik's people are big-nosed, discriminated-against, exotic, exceedingly wealthy, outsider merchants who use their great wealth to exploit the poor and manipulate the aristocracy; sound familiar? Nonetheless, the worldbuilding intrigues, and the open-ended conclusion begs a sequel. Moody, in the spirit of Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth (2009), but with a much more likable heroine. (Fantasy. 13-16)

(COPYRIGHT (2012) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-Felicita and Ilven are members of Pelimburg's elite ruling class, permitted to practice limited magic under the city's strict rationing of the enchanted arts. Seeking to escape an arranged marriage, Ilven throws herself from the seaside cliffs. Doomed to the same matrimonial fate, Felicita runs away and, disguised, takes refuge in the slums of Old Town. Here, she befriends Dash and his ragtag band of misfits, becomes infatuated with the vampire Jannik, and loses her pre-conceived prejudices. For the first time, Felicita experiences a hint of happiness. But Ilven's watery suicide has cursed Pelimburg, unleashing an ancient and destructive magic that will not be reined in-and Dash hopes to manipulate this primal power to begin a revolution. Only a human sacrifice will save the town from the dangers that crawl from the tide. And when this time comes, Felicita will be forced to make the hardest decision of her life. Her world is exquisitely rendered, from the harsh beauty of Old Town to the splendor of Jannik's existence, and characters leap from the pages. Saturating every element of the story is the salt-tinged aura of the sea. Hellisen's captivating debut will haunt readers.-Alissa J. LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2012
Grades 9-12 Vampires, selkies, and drug-powered magic are commonplace in Pelimburg, where three elite families on the cliffs use their powers to gain political strength, while the lower classes live in slums by the sea. Sixteen-year-old Felicita, the only daughter of the House of Pelim, fakes her own death to avoid an arranged marriage, disguises herself, and moves in with a group of squatters in the slums. Here she learns about the grim reality of life for the lower classes, and she falls for both the charismatic Dash (who plans a rebellion to overthrow the caste system) and the vampire Jannik (who is also trying to escape his unwelcome destiny). Hellisen's first novel combines the survival tactics of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games books with a fascinating array of magical creatures and powers. The South African author also raises issues of racism, classism, and social justice, lending a thoughtful note to what is clearly the beginning of a series. Felicita's first-person, present-tense narrative lends urgency to her plight, and readers will savor her believable transformation from pampered royalty to thoughtful rebel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)