Vengeance Bound

When vengeance is all you seek, will it ever be enough? Five years ago, Amelie Ainsworth, now 16, was abducted by a very bad man. After he had abused her, Amelie was willing to do anything to escape or, better yet, exact revenge. Her call for assistance brought Tisiphone and Megaera, two-thirds of the mythological Furies, who rescued her in exchange for her becoming their third. Now they live in her mind and manifest when she brings the guilty to justice. After an unscrupulous psychiatrist destroys her life and her family, Amelie flees across the country, taking out men guilty of crimes against women and children with the help of her ever-strengthening companions. Settling in West County, Pa., she changes her name to Cory and tries to lead a normal life. But the Furies have plans for her, and she might not be able to escape, even with the help of hunky Niko. Ireland's debut wastes a promising premise in the myths-in-the-modern-world subgenre by peopling a turgid and at times repetitive tale with stock characters and silly bad men. She plays fast and loose with the traditional motivations of the Furies and tosses in many unrealistic plot twists. Buffy meets Dexter with a sprinkling of Aeschylus, but only for genre fiends. (Fantasy. 14 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-In this unique paranormal thriller, 17-year-old Amelie Ainsworth (alias "Corinne Graff") has had a traumatic life, including being orphaned and spending time in a mental asylum. Most of her teen years have been spent moving from place to place trying to create a sense of normalcy and to maintain her secret: she is linked to the bloodthirsty Furies from Greek mythology and is able to conjure them to hand down lethal judgments on murderers, rapists, and pedophiles. Amelie's ultimate goal is to track down her former doctor, who kept her heavily medicated and used her for experiments. Her hunt leads her to a town in Pennsylvania where she enrolls in high school and tries to blend in and be "normal." Here Amelie makes new friends and attracts the attention of handsome Niko, who suspects there is more to her than what she shows the world. As their relationship develops, Amelie finds that it gets harder to keep the Furies under control. Scenes of young love blossoming contrast with episodes in which the Furies slaughter killers who have evaded the law. The suspenseful explanation of how the powerful beings became linked to Amelie is revealed as she begins to understand how much her bargain with them has cost her. The language, violence, and sexual themes make this page-turner more appropriate for mature readers.-Sherry J. Mills, Hazelwood East High School, St. Louis, MO

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