Darker Still

October 1, 2011
Fans of Victorian gothics can get another fix with this new twist on The Picture of Dorian Gray. Framed as a "diary" confiscated by baffled 1880 New York police, the story finds Miss Natalie Stewart entranced by the portrait of tragic young Lord Denbury. She soon learns that Denbury did not commit suicide as reported but still lives, trapped inside his portrait. She allies herself with Mrs. Evelyn Northe, a wealthy and knowledgeable spiritualist, in an effort to battle the demon that has imprisoned him and to release Denbury from the evil magic cast upon him. Natalie, however, is mute, having lost her voice at age 4, when her mother died. But surprise! Natalie can enter the portrait to meet Denbury face to face, and when she does, she can speak. Of course, she and Denbury instantly fall in love, thrilling to every accidental and forbidden touch and building up to the all-important, breathless goal of Victorian gothic romances: The Kiss. Although she follows most of the conventions of the genre, Hieber applies some real imagination to the story. Her depiction of the dark magic involved and of the demon's murderous activities adds some good suspense and stands out as the strongest element of the novel. Characterizations work fine, although none surpasses two dimensions. A good romp for those who enjoy the genre, with some effective suspense. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

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January 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart, mute since a traumatic childhood incident, records a life rife with incident in the journal gifted to her on her exit from the Connecticut Asylum. Her mannered, overwrought prose suits the character of a privileged young woman from the 1880s, and her descriptions of 19th-century New York City have charm. An encounter with a cursed painting draws Natalie into the world of spiritualism and demonic possession. Jonathon Denbury, a young English lord missing and presumed dead, is actually trapped inside a portrait acquired by Natalie's father for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Natalie is the only connection Denbury has to the real world, and she and Mrs. Northe, a wealthy intellectual spiritualist, strive to free him before his soul is forfeited. The premise of this novel has great appeal, but dense narrative dampens both momentum and suspense. Characterizations are convenient rather than organic; mid-novel the oft-nearly-swooning Natalie suddenly emerges as a master of disguise with sword-and-staff fighting skills. Convenient plotting undermines any accrued believability. (Denbury decides he can project himself to Natalie's side to protect her; Natalie's voice returns because "something supernatural" cures it.) Elements of melodramatic gothic and supernatural swashbuckler never quite meld, and the conclusion is foregone long before the climax. Readers seeking historical adventure, romantic or magical, should look to Philip Pullman's Ruby in the Smoke (Knopf, 1985) or Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty (Delacorte, 2003).-Janice M. Del Negro, GSLIS Dominican University, River Forest, IL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 In a little less than a month in 1880, sensible 17-year-old Natalie Stewart falls in love with a man in a painting, gets drawn into the painting and learns of her true love's entrapment, and embraces her own magical abilities to release him from his demonic possession. Then she disappears. Playing with elements from Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray, Hieber weaves a hypnotic web of suspense, nineteenth-century spiritualism, and romance in this tale of unwitting victims and brave hearts. This atmospheric Gothic romance is styled as the missing girl's diary entries, which are offered to the publicwith appropriate cautionsfrom New York City police files. The age of the protagonist makes this firmly YA, but readers may be tempted to dive into Hieber's adult Strangely Beautiful series. Other good pairings would be costume romances in the vein of Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecelia (2003), or more spiritualist fiction such as Alyxandra Harvey's Haunting Violet (2011).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)