Trickster's Girl

December 6, 2010
In this disappointing science fiction/fantasy hybrid set at the end of the 21st century, humanity, after years of environmental malfeasance, has finally taken steps to clean up the planet. Unfortunately, from massive forest die-offs to increasing cancer rates, there is ample evidence that it's too late. Fifteen-year-old Kelsa, deeply depressed after recently losing her father to cancer, steals his ashes, intent on burying them in the wilderness. There she is accosted by a beautiful young man named Raven, who tells her, "I've been looking for you for a long time." Raven, it seems, is actually the trickster figure of Native American mythology, and he has chosen Kelsa to help him reverse Earth's ecological collapse. Of course, while recruiting her, he neglects to mention that most of his fellow supernatural beings are actively, even violently, opposed to his plan, preferring to allow humanity to die off. Bell (the Farsala trilogy) is a veteran writer, but this tale fails to generate much tension, and her cartoonish biker villains simply aren't very scary. Ages 12–up.