Prophecy of the Sisters

August 3, 2009
Set in 19th-century New York, Zink's tense and haunting debut novel is narrated by 16-year-old Lia Milthorpe, left in the lurch by the recent death of her father under mysterious circumstances. Lia, who bears the mark of the Jorgumand (a snake devouring itself) on her wrist, soon learns that she and her twin sister, Alice, are fated to play crucial opposing roles in a mystical struggle that goes back to the dawn of time; unfortunately neither girl is temperamentally suited to the role she has been assigned. The author's language, formal and restrained, is appropriate for the setting and gives the chilly scenes between the sisters an especially gothic air (“We are not the kind of sisters who engage in nightly hair brushing or confided secrets”). While Zink relies on the well-used trope of the grand prophecy, the story is anything but clichéd, with flawed and fragmentary translations, misinterpretation and methodical but inspired deduction complicating and enriching the tale. The result is a captivating tragedy immersed in a world of spells, Samhain and twisting family allegiances that stands on its own while leaving room for sequels. Ages 12–up.

January 1, 2010
Gr 7 Up-Lia and Alice buried their father on a rainy day in the fall of 1890. His death was sudden, and strange happenings are keeping the twins from resuming their wealthy, well-educated lives. Lia begins to dream of flying and Alice, while reserved, does not appear to mourn her father. Lia's boyfriend, James, uncovers an ancient tome that cryptically tells of two sisters, one the Gate and one the Guardian. One has the power to return Satan to Earth, the other the responsibility to keep her sister in check. As Lia investigates the prophecy, a fortuitous trip to a fortune-teller, Sonia, unlocks new doors. With school friend Luisa joining in the adventure, the cast of characters is complete. Lia, Sonia, and Luisa band together to solve the riddle while preventing the increasingly malevolent Alice from discovering their findings. Zink's choice of first-person present sadly emphasizes her lack of character development. None of the perils the heroines face invoke fear or sympathy, as they are all half-explained and resolved too quickly for real concern to set in. Pass this title over for better historical fantasy fare."Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, formerly at New York Public Library"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

bookstory13 - No one else has read this book either? :'( This is a good book! It is set back in the late 1800s, so I can see how a lot of people wouldn't be interested...but still. There are many plot twists in this book. But here is a summary (AND MANY SPOILERS): Alice and Lia are rich twins. Their mother died when they were children, and their father died more recently. After his death, Lia notices a strange mark on her wrist. Lia then discovers a book about a prophecy: A Gate, Lost Souls, a Guardian, Samial, Keys, and an Angel. Lia was born first, but Alice was always obviously in charge. Alice-the more popular of the two-is starting to act stranger and not like herself. Lia - the one less socially acceptable-follows Alice and one of her friends after escaping from a book shop on a school field trip. They head to a mansion, and inside they find a girl who can communicate with spirits. The girl speaks with their father, turns white, and ushers them back outside. Lia dreams that night that she is flying. Dark creatures appear and give chase. Sonia (the girl who can communicate with spirits) tells her to run. Lia joins her soul back with her body and Sonia comes to visit her. Sonia explains that it is called "traveling the planes". Sonia starts taking apart the prophecy with Lia, and they figure out Lost Souls are angels turned bad and cast from heaven. When Lia and Alice go back to school, no one looks at Lia except for a girl Luisa. Luisa is not socially accepted because she is from a different country, so Lia and Luisa start to be friends. They discover more about the prophecy with Sonia. They meet Madame, a french woman who is an expert in witchcraft. Madame shows them different books that help them continue to learn. Alice uses a knife to cut through a circle on the floor that was protecting Lia from the Lost Souls, and Samuel, the world Lost Soul, who wants to enter the earth as a shadow through Lia. The gate turns out the be Lia, the guardian turns out to be Alice (who wants to let the Lost Souls come in and destroy the world) and the Keys are Sonia and Luisa. Two other girls are the keys but I don't know yet because I haven't read the other books. This is a really good book, and more people need to read it, but I am not going to write any more because I am not sure if this has a word limit.

Starred review from May 15, 2009
Grades 7-10 *Starred Review* As 16-year-old Lia Milthorpe stands at her fathers grave, she has no idea that his death is about to set off a chain of events that will put her and her twin sister, Alice, at odds and decide the fate of a legion of lost souls led by the fallen angel Samael. A circular mark on her arm, the discovery of an ancient prophecy, and the strange behavior of Alice all tug her toward the realization that like her mother and aunt before her, she and her sister are the Guardian and the Gate, positioned to help Samael or hinder him as he and his minions try to gain a foothold in this world. Debut novelist Zink sets her story in an old house in upstate New York in the early 1800s, and she crafts the atmosphere as carefully as she plots the story and shapes her characters. The latter is especially important because there are deep psychological underpinnings to the sisters actions and reactions, and Zink does not shy away from grounding her fantasy in the sisters characters. This arresting story takes readers to other planes of existence; in the next book Lia travels across the ocean to find others who can help her in the fight against evil. Readers will have a hard time waiting for her to arrive.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)