Torn

June 15, 2011

A disrupted magical prophecy pits fate against choice in O'Rourke's debut.

Maura "Mo" Fitzgerald wakes up in a hospital room to face a handful of impossibilities—namely, that she has witnessed the murder of her best friend, Verity Grey, and that said murder was committed by evil, supernatural creatures. Rocked out of complacency, Mo discovers that Verity was not only living a double life as a powerful magic user called an Arc, but had been the prophesied key for preventing a magical disaster on par with a nuclear meltdown. Mo isn't fated—or qualified—to save the world, but she finds herself falling into Verity's role as well as the arms of a mysterious, handsome Arc whom she suspects of having been romantically involved with Verity.  She struggles with grieving, her family's shady ties and a protective bodyguard, all the while trying to figure out whom she can trust in a destiny not meant for her. The romance is on the less-developed side, but the male lead makes up for it in dark charisma. While some of the plot twists are predictable, and the shadowy consortium of villains is ill-defined, the novel shines when Mo deals with the implications and ramifications of her role as a substitute for the chosen heroine.

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September 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up-It's an increasingly common premise: a magic world coexisting with the non-magic, one chosen individual possessing special powers, an ambiguous prophecy, and an urgent need to save the world. Except in this novel, the protagonist isn't the chosen one. In fact, she is murdered before the book even begins, leaving behind her best friend, Mo Fitzgerald, who doesn't even know that magic exists. Mo has always stayed below the radar and in the shadow of Verity. But even she could tell that the creatures that killed her friend weren't human, and she's determined to figure out what happened. Her journey takes her into a realm filled with magic-users called Arcs, demonlike Darklings, and a power struggle that threatens all stability. In addition, Mo's family may or may not be involved with the mob, so it's not just supernatural baddies that she has to watch out for. O'Rourke's heroine is refreshing: determined, spunky, and unpredictable. The two requisite love interests are more formulaic, but Torn should still satisfy readers with an insatiable thirst for well-written, fast-paced fantasy and leave them eager for the next installment in the series.-Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA

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