Carrier of the Mark

September 5, 2011
Fallon’s debut novel, first published on the HarperCollins online writing community inkpop.com and then selected for print, is a better-than-average offering that occasionally betrays its amateur roots with some uneven pacing. The setup is familiar and briskly handled: 17-year-old Megan Rosenberg has moved to Kinsale, Ireland, with her father after several unsettled years following the death of Megan’s mother. Megan fits right in with the popular crowd at her new school, but a broodingly handsome boy, Adam DeRís, keeps staring at her, and Megan stares right back, despite her friends’ warnings. Several chapters of teenage day-in-the-life narration ensue before Fallon suddenly dumps mysterious marks, elemental forces, and the Celtic goddess Danu into the mix, and the story takes off in a paranormal direction that the first third of the book has only hinted at. The intense, immediate romance between Megan and Adam remains the focus and the main draw. It’s an engaging story, heavy on the “snogging” and light on the mystical perils, from an author likely to improve with time. Ages 13–up.

September 1, 2011

This obsessive, Twilight-like romance and teen debut, first discovered on inkpop.com, misses the benefit of thorough editing in a rush to be published.

After years of moving since her mother died, Megan finally feels at home in her father's most recent relocation, this time to Ireland. Despite rumors that his family may be witches, she's instantly attracted to Adam DeRís. Megan soon discovers in a nonstop information dump (which leaves little room for authentic Irish dialogue or interesting action) that she, along with Adam and his two siblings, is Marked as one of the vessels of the four elements (earth, wind, fire and air). If she can invoke her powers, then she and the DeRíses can perform an alignment on the Summer Solstice and turn the world's chaos into harmony. But Megan is also the Carrier of the Mark and therefore responsible for producing children that will continue the Marked lineage. Because "physical union" between two Marked is forbidden, Megan must decide if she should accept her fate and forsake Adam's love or repress her Marked powers and let the world fall to ruin. Complicating the decision are the Knox, who want to seize the elemental powers and instate a fifth element, and possible corruption of a secret Order with ties to Trinity College in Dublin. Perhaps the planned sequel will be less complicated.

Misses the mark. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-Megan and her dad have recently moved to Ireland following the death of her mother. At her new school, the teen is inexplicably attracted to a young man, and the feelings are mutual. After a near-drowning, when it appears that her new love interest has the ability to control water, she is soon let in on the secret of his family: he and his siblings are "marked," and each one controls one of the elements of fire, earth, or water. It also seems that Megan herself has a budding mark, involving the control of air, first evident when she accidentally conjures a tornado to avert an assault. The lore is complicated further when it is revealed that many pagan prophecies will be fulfilled with the addition of her as the fourth, final element. Combine prophecy, amulets, and a secret society stalking the group and you have the makings of a fine paranormal romance, tame enough for younger readers. Wendy Delsol's Stork (Candlewick, 2010) and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush (S & S, 2009) will provide more of what they are looking for here.-Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2011
Grades 8-12 When Megan first sees Adam DeRis standing at the gates of her new school in Cork, Ireland, she is immediately attracted to his smoldering good looks. But despite his seeming interest in her, he remains distant, and when his brother, Rian, appears to give her the evil eye, she is further confused. Soon, however, she learns that their caution is based on a supernatural force drawn from Druid legend: Megan is the fourth element, air, drawn to water (Adam), fire (Rian), and earth (the brothers' sister, Aine) in a potential alignment that could save or destroy the world. First-time novelist Fallon has blended a unique tale of magic, folklore, friendship, and sweet romance into a tantalizing mystery with a modicum of danger. While it is a bit slow to draw readers in, the story moves at a rapid clip once father-figure Fionne spins the tales of the quartet's powers, and it ends with a hint of a possible sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)