Illuminated

October 17, 2011
The discovery of an ancient palimpsest, a medieval Book of Hours written over an earlier composition, sparks a quest to unearth its origins. Sixteen-year old Callie interns with her uncle, an illuminated manuscripts expert, and joins NYU student August on a treasure hunt that turns dangerous once the book’s value becomes known. Their search takes them from Manhattan to Paris, unveiling layers of parallel love stories along the way. Visionary dreams lead them to the centuries-old star-crossed love affair of Heloise and Abelard, and their tragically abandoned son, Astrolabe. Callie’s personal quest to understand her long-dead mother (“I’ve spent my life... hoping she would whisper to me the way the scrawl in the margin whispered to Uncle Harry”) feeds her yearning, while her keen observation of both healthy loves (Harry and his partner, Gabe) and destructive ones (her father and his numerous girlfriends) provides instruction in the promise and perils of passion, as her feelings for August grow. Though occasionally choppy, Orloff’s (the Magickeepers series) combination coming-of-age, historical mystery, ghost story, and romance satisfies on many levels. Ages 12–up.

October 1, 2011
The hunt for the origins of a medieval tome sets the backdrop for revelations and romance in a Boston teen's savvy first-person tale. Callie spends the months before her senior year in Manhattan interning for her gay Uncle Harry, a manuscripts historian, who sets her up with an agoraphobic colleague's son. An eccentric student at NYU, August is also his father's custodian; the love-at-first-sight he and Callie experience is entirely plausible given the fertile heat of summer and their assignment to authenticate a rare manuscript. In her role as detective, Callie discovers her parents' marriage devolved long before her mother died. Her new sense of purpose gives her the confidence to confront her high-flying and exacting attorney father for the first time ever, forcing him to get to know her in a meaningful way. Callie's independence and focus on the goal at hand successfully override occasional moments of romantic overkill, offshoots of Orloff's apparent zeal to mirror Callie and August's courtship with the historical relationship they uncover. The author ties too many bright, shiny bows on the end of the book, but she does convey a valuable message that intellectual ardor can redeem and direct. A beach read that might inspire an interest in history. (Romance. 12-17)

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

January 1, 2012

Gr 7-11-Calliope, 16, is spending the summer with her Uncle Harry, who works in the rare book room of Manhattan's Royal Auction House, while her father jet sets around Europe with yet another girlfriend. It's been this way ever since her mother died, with Uncle Harry being Callie's rock as she and her father grow further and further apart. But this summer an illuminated manuscript with a murky past will bring a new love into Callie's life-if she's willing to accept it. Illuminated is an imperfect but well-written and readable novel. Callie is an endearing character, the mystery is intriguing, and the attraction is believable. There are some plot threads that seem to die mid-book (such as dangerous, elusive Tome Raider, who simply disappears), and others are tied up too neatly. Still, this sweet romance will attract plenty of readers, who will be willing to overlook its flaws.-Heather Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 For teens embarking on or dreaming of their own all-encompassing, meant-to-be first love, this romantic and history-tinged adventure will make them swoon. Calliope, 16, is set for another summer interning for her uncle Harry's antique-book business in glamorous Manhattan. When Harry is asked to appraise an illuminated manuscript that is actually a palimpsest, Callie is paired with August, the son of a brilliant antiquarian, to investigate the history of the book. Together, the two trace the dramatic provenance of the book, discover the ill-fated love story of Heloise and Abelard hidden within the pages, and fall in love. Callie and August are a likable pair, both struggling realistically with family secrets in their past, and they have a palpable attraction to each other that is kept relatively chaste. A clandestine trip to Paris (in separate beds), dreams in which Heloise and Abelard reveal secrets to Callie and August, and a super-romantic culmination reuniting lost loves cap this thoroughly enjoyable romantic mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)