Revenge and the Wild

November 16, 2015
Debut author Modesto’s fantasy-western brims with intense action and intriguing characters, which include leprechauns, brownies, and werewolves. Seventeen-year-old Westie has been on a revenge mission ever since cannibals killed her family. Aided her adoptive father’s assistant, Alistair, who also lost his family to cannibals, and her friend Bena Water-Dancer— a member of the Wintu people, who magically protect Rogue City from invading beasts—Westie discovers that the Wintu’s magic is fading and that her family’s killers may have just arrived in town. The newcomers appear to be innocent and trustworthy, but after a good friend is killed, Westie—battling alcoholism and her split desire for Alistair and a vampire, Costin—must find a way to prove that the supposedly normal Fairfields are actually ruthless killers. Modesto further flavors the novel with steampunk elements, including Westie’s own mechanical arm, though the decision to cast the Wintu as magic-wielders feels like an embrace of “magical native” stereotypes, even within the book’s fantasy setup. While the final showdown and conclusion are formulaic, Modesto’s genre-bending novel offers full-bodied romance and electrifying twists. Ages 14–up. Agent: John M. Cusick, Folio Literary Management.

November 15, 2015
For years, Westie's hunted the cannibal family that killed hers and took her arm; now they've arrived in Rogue City to invest in the machine her adoptive father, Nigel, is building to protect the area's humans from magical creatures, but he's reluctant to believe her. Nigel designed her mechanical arm and later rescued another child victim, Alistair, and built his mechanical voice box. While they used to be close, he's distanced himself from Westie (long in love with him), which hurts. Her friend Bena believes her, but her people, the First Nations Wintu, are losing their ability to work the magic that keeps them safe and sustains the dome, and they need Nigel's machine. As evidence mounts that the Fairfields are indeed cannibals, Westie's drinking habit returns. Determined to vanquish it for good, she chooses a cure (vampires are involved) that's equally dangerous. Shadowing her everywhere, Alistair remains aloof, unlike James, the handsome newcomer and the Fairfields' nephew, or Costin, the dangerous, alluring vampire with a thing for Westie. Her strong character--smart, impulsive, funny, and unfeminine (in a good way)--ties this sometimes-reckless conflation of genres into a mostly convincing, mostly seamless whole (the extremely low-maintenance horses are an exception). This strong debut will delight fans of the genre, especially its Western subdivision, and despite a few passages that make the Donner Party look like vegans, the suspenseful plot should keep even squeamish readers engaged. (Steampunk. 14-18)

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December 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-A page-turning, steampunk-esque Wild West adventure crawling with supernatural creatures. Seventeen-year-old Westie may be one of the most notorious citizens of Rogue City, a magic-filled town in California where creatures such as elves, ogres, vampires, and humans all live in relative peace thanks to the magic wards of the Wintu tribe. Westie comes to Rouge City as a one-armed child after escaping the cannibals who consumed her family. From that day on, she is raised by Nigel, a brilliant inventor who creates a mechanical arm for her, as well as Bena, a Wintu woman, and Alistair, a fosterling of Nigel's who wears a mechanical mask (another of Nigel's creations) over part of his face. Westie has spent years searching for the cannibals to extract her revenge, succumbing to alcoholic binges along the way. Then, the very people she is seeking arrive in Rogue City as potential investors for Nigel's newest invention-one that will help save the magic that is quickly being lost in the city. But how will she prove they are the same people who killed her family? This slightly gruesome story really has something for nearly everyone-there's romance, revenge, gunslinging, magic, vampires, and zombies. Yet somehow Modesto makes it all work. The only nagging issue is that the Wintu are portrayed as mystical, magical people, which makes them seem more "other" than the non-Wintu humans in the book. VERDICT A rollicking story, although not without flaws.-Heather Webb, Worthington Libraries, OH

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 Westie has several problems. She's in love with childhood friend Alistair, but he's barely spoken to her for years; she recently ruined years of sobriety with one poorly made decision involving very strong whiskey; and the cannibals that killed and ate her family when she was a girl have just arrived in town. If that wasn't enough, the town's magic that protects its many nonhuman creatures is starting to fail. It's all too much for one girl to deal with, but the chance to finally avenge her family's death has filled her with a single-minded rage that won't stop until justice is done. This steampunk western takes on far more than it can handle but delivers nonstop danger, slapstick, and steamy romance. Westie, with her impulsive decisions and single-minded focus, will resonate with any teen who has ever wanted something bad enough he or she was willing to do whatever it took to get it. Violent and frenetic, this is a good match for readers who like their fights bloody and heroes unapologetically brash.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)