Divah

January 4, 2016
After 17-year-old Itzy Nash arrives at New York City’s Carlyle Hotel, the distant aunt she is supposed to spend the summer with is nowhere to be found. Instead, Itzy is confronted by Luc, a handsome stranger who soon informs her that demons are quite real—and as a fallen angel, he should know. Marilyn Monroe, it turns out, was a demon-hunter, while Marie Antoinette was the “Divah,” queen of the demons. Marie is returning, threatening dark days for humanity, and the fate of the world may rest with Itzy. Appelbaum’s (the Poisons of Caux series) story takes a while to find its footing, unleashing back story and details about this demon-filled version of our world through awkwardly deployed devices that include Luc’s letters to Marie Antoinette, the musings of a reclusive actress, and a substantial mid-novel narrative shift that dives into Luc’s love-affair-gone-wrong with the French queen. Even so, Appelbaum threads her story with enough playful details to keep readers enticed—who knew that guillotines and well-tied Hermés scarves were such useful tools when fighting demons? Ages 12–up.

January 15, 2016
A teenager at New York's Carlyle Hotel discovers her role in the ancient war between angels and demons. Itzy Nash is to summer with her wealthy, child-hating aunt at the ritzy Carlyle, but it's hardly what she expected. Itzy's seeing strange things, her aunt's gone, and the suite's filled with bugs (the posh hotel is strangely relaxed about pest problems). Through passages of exposition--delivered in dialogue and as informative interpolations--Itzy learns that she's seeing demons, and the Divah, a demon queen, is coming. In a sagging second section, the third-person point of view switches to angelic love interest Luc's first-person narration of his forbidden romance with Divah Marie Antoinette and how close her evil scheme to open the Gates of Hell came to success before the guillotine prevented it. Then, back in Itzy's time, she is dragged by the plot and other characters through the Divah's rise and next attempt to unleash the damned--by possessing Itzy. Though early humor (demons hate Hermes, Evian, and the French language) beckons readers, it peters out. Throughout all sections, there's a glaring lack of expected reaction to odd happenings: demon hunters and bystanders alike act as though grotesque sights (as when Luc carries a decapitated head around Paris) are normal. This has the effect of flattening both characters and worldbuilding, distancing readers so thoroughly it's doubtful they will care about the plot's twists. A miss. (Fantasy/horror. 12-18)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Seventeen-year-old Itzy Nash is staying at the swanky Carlyle Hotel in New York City for the summer, but she's not at all excited. She has to stay with her grouchy Aunt Maude, she misses her father, a demon stows away in her duffel bag, and that's just the beginning of Itzy's problems. The teen is caught in the middle of an epic war between angels and demons, a war that started during France's Reign of Terror. Right at the center of the battle are Luc, the handsome and mysterious fallen angel, and the Divah, the most powerful demon of all. Armed with Hermes scarves and Evian water, Itzy and an army of angels and demon-hunters must try to bring down the Divah before she can raise the Gates of Hell in the middle of the Upper East Side. This book tries very hard to be several things at once-fantasy, romance, gothic thriller, historical fiction-but it doesn't do any of them particularly well. Appelbaum's dialogue feels stunted, and her characters aren't as well realized as protagonists in other YA fantasy romances. Readers will be very confused by this book. One character's dialogue will especially deter reluctant readers: "Do you vhish to know vhat it vas zat flashed zrough my mynd vhen first I saw you?" References to Hermes, Evian, and the Carlyle are too niche for most teens. Also, they won't be able to connect with Itzy. VERDICT Genre fans should stick to Laini Taylor's "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" series (Little, Brown).-Ashley Fetterolf, Indian Creek Upper School, Crownsville, MD

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