Poison Princess

October 1, 2012
In Louisiana, there’s every kind of crazy. There’s the crazy of a grandmother locked up in the madhouse. There’s the crazy of the seething Cajun boy, Jackson, with bandaged knuckles, a drinking problem, and nightmares. And there’s the crazy of 16-year-old Evie, who sees hallucinations that have bloody and all-too-real effects in the real world. In the days before the Flash, a disaster that decimates the planet, Evie is mostly concerned with dodging her boyfriend’s plans for her virginity and surviving the last two years of high school. Her visions of writhing vines and a savagely murderous red witch are just something she has to deal with. After the Flash, Evie faces a whole new reality: she’s not crazy. The “hallucinations” were true. Adult romance author Cole moves past apocalypse into pure horror as she launches her first series for teens: bracketing Evie’s narrative of self-discovery is her chilling encounter with a serial killer who keeps girls—and bodies—in the basement. For fans of Freddie and Jason, Cole’s tarot-themed supernatural thriller will hold a similarly lurid fascination. Ages 14–up. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Oct.)■

September 15, 2012
Mixing romance, a plant-killing apocalypse and mystical mumbo jumbo, this YA debut brings tears for the trees killed to print it. Before the Flash, Evie worried about avoiding Jackson Deveaux, a Cajun boy from the wrong side of the tracks, and not going crazy from the horrifying visions she sees or the voices in her head. After the Flash, a convenient apocalyptic event that wipes out any life exposed to it--human, animal and vegetable--Evie, bland and kind, eventually joins forces with the one-dimensional Jackson, who's either surly or sexually aggressive. Evie learns that she is part of the Arcana, a secret group with supernatural powers representing cards in the tarot, and they will soon engage in a battle with Death itself. If Evie doesn't accept her powers as the Empress, the world is doomed, but probably not as much as this novel. The relationship between Jackson and Evie seems more like emotional manipulation and abuse than sexy romance. Cole clearly missed the science lesson about photosynthesis--wiping out all plants would probably quickly eliminate all life, period. Meanwhile, the plot is all setup, wandering through seemingly disconnected scenes until a jarring ending. This novel is more dead garden than lush paradise. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)

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September 1, 2012
Grades 9-12 You must trump the twenty-one other Arcana cards, Evie. Only one can live. Sixteen-year-old Evie hears voices and sees visions of a red-haired, violent, plant-wielding woman who seems familiar. Despite a flash that transforms her world into a postapocalyptic nightmare, complete with zombies and cannibals, Evie goes in search of answers, accompanied by hunky Cajun hothead Jackson, who seems attracted to and repelled by her in equal measure. The Arcana Chronicles' premise is that there are teens in the world who are actually living embodiments of the tarot deck, and war is brewing. Evie's first trump occupies relatively few pages; most involve her evolution into the Empress and her relationship with Jackson. The prose crackles with energy and interest, and the content taps into the demand for paranormal romance; this could be the next Twilight. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Cole, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of the Immortals after Dark series, makes her YA debut here, boosted by an extensive marketing push.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)