Rampant

July 20, 2009
This compelling new adventure, Peterfreund's (Secret Society Girl
) YA debut, introduces an international cast of strong young women, virginal descendants of Alexander the Great, who hunt an unusual breed of monster: unicorns. Sixteen-year-old narrator Astrid Llewelyn never believed her mother's stories about unicorns—portrayed as bloodthirsty, venomous and near impossible to kill—until one impales the boy she's seeing. Sent to Rome (unwillingly) to train with other huntresses in response to the “Reemergence” of the supposedly extinct creatures, Astrid makes new friends and enemies, hones her powers and finds time for a little romance, while coming to grips with her new life (“Forgive me if enforced lifelong celibacy and possible death by dismemberment and poisoning don't exactly get me excited,” she gripes). But she soon suspects (as will readers) that the war against the unicorns isn't so cut-and-dried. With an atmospheric setting, personable ensemble cast and some reasoned discussions about virginity, this gripping page-turner evokes the same grrl-power spirit as Buffy the Vampire Slayer
, packed with action, mystery and a complex and intriguing mythology. Ages 12–up

August 1, 2009
Gr 9 Up-Unicorns are not magical, sparkly creatures of fairy tale, but violent, venomous beasts that could only be killed by virgin girls descended from Alexander the Great and that were hunted to extinction more than a century agoor so Astrid Llewelyn's mother always told her. Naturally, the 16-year-old is dismayed to learn that all but the last part is true. Like her ancestors, Astrid fits the criteria for a unicorn hunter, and her obsessed-with-glory mom sends her off to Italy to train for battle against the latest wave of unicorn attacks. The scientifically inclined Astrid is reluctant to enter this mysticism-laced world, but her interest is piqued by research into the Remedy, a panacea somehow connected to the unicorns. Astrid is a believably strong and reluctant heroine, but only a few of her fellow hunters emerge as fully developed characters. Bloody battles abound, but the book is at its best when the characters discuss the moral and social aspects of their situation. How does a cloistered order dedicated to exterminating a species fit in with modern ideas of feminism and environmentalism? The hunters must be virgins, and Astrid and the others discuss the fact that they often feel pressured by their peers to have sex. A solid addition for libraries needing to beef up their girl-centric fantasy-adventure collections."Christi Esterle, Parker Library, CO"

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