Teardrop

September 2, 2013
Like its bayou setting, this trilogy opener from Kate is meandering and deceptive, full of odd inlets. Some are intriguing, like 17-year-old Eureka Boudreaux’s platonic friendship with Brooks, a boy she’s known her whole life. Others less so, like the winking references in the names of Eureka’s rival, Maya Cayce, and the psychic Madame Blavatsky. Still, patient readers may find Eureka’s slowly unfolding tale worth the time. She’s the fragile survivor of a “rogue wave” that drowned her mother, Diana, leaving Eureka physically broken and suicidal. Her memories of Diana don’t square with her assertions that they had a wonderful relationship—she recalls being slapped, ignored, and left behind when Diana divorced Eureka’s father. A self-described Stoic, Eureka doesn’t want to share these memories with her family, friends, or therapists. But that stoicism is shattered by Ander, a blond stranger whose arrival launches a gradual cascade of realization that give Eureka a new perception of who she is. Fans of Kate’s popular Fallen series will find a similar blend of supernatural romance, mystery, and destiny. Ages 12–up. Agent: Michael Stearns and Ted Malawer, the Inkhouse.

When given the choice to "[s]ave the world, or save the girl," a young man named Ander, scion of a mystical race of beings with power over water, chooses the girl. Seventeen-year-old Eureka Boudreaux has no idea how or why she survived the car crash that claimed her mother's life, and there have been plenty of times when she wished she hadn't. Four months and one suicide attempt after the accident, Eureka struggles to adjust to life without her mother and to a world that is suddenly filled with mystery and danger--with Eureka, unwitting agent of an apocalypse Ander's people are trying to prevent, at the center of it all. Kate's lush, sensuous descriptions bring the Louisiana bayou to life as Eureka battles against extraordinary forces of nature, desperate to discover who and what she truly is and how she can save the people she loves. While the characters are rich and appealing, and there's plenty of danger, romance and intrigue to entertain, readers may find themselves frustrated by how long it takes to learn the truth about Eureka's powers. All of the ingredients are there, but the murkiness surrounding the mythical underpinnings of the novel keeps it from reaching its full potential. Still, there's plenty here to make for a terrific weekend-afternoon read. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-A freak wave drowns 17-year-old Eureka Boudreaux's mother and nearly ends her life as well. Inexplicably saved, and irrevocably changed, she attempts suicide and drifts angrily through a world she's unable to fully rejoin. But the wave was no accident, and Eureka's life and the lives of others in her small bayou town remain in serious danger. Through the investigation of some ancient heirlooms and the cryptic intervention of a mysterious boy named Ander, Eureka begins to understand that she is the descendant of an Atlantean princess, the fulfillment of a witches' prophecy of the one whose tears have the power to raise the lost continent. Ander and his family, the Seedbearers, have spent generations committed to making sure that she and those like her die before they use that power. This strong mythic premise has promise, but the book suffers from clunky and cliched characters and heavy-handed exposition. The plot twists are often unintentionally funny, as Kate tries to be most dramatic (for instance, there are not one but two escapes by underwater bubble containing several people, and a medium named Madame Blavatsky translates an ancient text into a succinct and tacky romance). Teardrop has its charming moments, but is mainly tiresome. It is the first of a series, and its chaotic ending doesn't bode well for what's to come. Fans of Kate's "Fallen" series (Delacorte) may swoon, but most others can probably pass.-Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2013
Grades 8-12 Seventeen-year-old Eureka Boudreaux survived the car accident that killed her archaeologist mother, but she is left physically and emotionally battered. Once captain of the cross-country team, she has abandoned the sport she loves and now lives with her unsympathetic stepmother, her caring but ineffectual father, and her beloved four-year-old twin stepsiblings. Eureka is also torn between new, intense feelings for two young men: childhood best friend Brooks and Ander, an attractive stranger who seems to understand her better than anyone. Upon inheriting a pendant, a handwritten book in unidentifiable language, and a mysterious stone from her mother, Eureka and friends discover her true legacyas a descendant of Atlantis whose tears have the power to raise the lost city. In this series opener, Kate sows the seed for several more titles filled with magic, action, and romance. The Louisiana setting lends appropriately oppressive humidity to a story dominated by water in all its changing forms. Romance and mystery readers will enjoy the smooth predictability of the many plot twists, made fresh by a promising backstory and atmospheric setting. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Expect a multiplatform marketing and publicity campaign for the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Fallen series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)