The Tattooed Heart

July 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Mara and the Messenger of Fear are back to mete out their particularly brutal brand of justice to those who have caused harm to themselves as well as to others. In this outing, they track two cases, one involving two teenage boys who have committed heinous hate crimes as well as those who have caused a young teenage runaway to overdose on illegal drugs. As in Messenger of Fear (HarperCollins, 2014), the punishments dispensed by the Messenger and his apprentice are graphic and will cause some readers to wince, though those who like their stories on the gory side will enjoy this work tremendously. Grant adequately expands the series' universe, gives readers more of the Messenger's backstory, and explains why he does what he does. There is sufficient summary at the start of this volume for those who have not read the previous title, but readers' experience will be greatly enhanced if they have. The ending is a bit rushed, yet teens will be satisfied with a few loose ends. VERDICT This will appeal to fans of the first installment as well as those who enjoy gory reads.-Christopher Lassen, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2015
This sequel to Messenger of Fear (2014) continues the story of Mara, who atones for her own evil acts by entering the service of a supernatural entity bound to punish other evildoers. Mara knows she caused a death. Now she works as the apprentice to the Messenger of Fear, confronting others who have done wrong and punishing them by inflicting their worst fears upon them. Unseen by humans unless they wish it, Mara and the Messenger watch the lives of the victims and the guilty to learn the truth about each. Much of this story follows the misfortunes of Graciella, now a drug-addicted prostitute, once a young songwriter victimized by a rising popular singer and her unscrupulous manager. Another storyline involves Trent, a hate-filled, racist teen who attacks Muslims and becomes one of the story's most interesting characters when he receives his punishment. Another, even darker force, represented by the immortal seductress Oriax, tempts Mara to leave the Messenger's service and follow her instead. Grant examines issues of truth, justice, and choice by building a supernatural world that interacts with reality and populating it with gods and demons. Justice and punishments take place even among the souls who, apparently temporarily, live outside of the real world while serving the goddess who balances existence. An absorbing morality tale of guilt and redemption. (Paranormal suspense. 14-18)

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July 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 Mara is beginning to settle into being apprentice to the Messenger of Fear, who punishes those who wrong others, but she yearns to find out what the Messenger did to sentence himself to this role and how it relates to his lost love, Ariadne. As the two work together on cases involving a bigoted boy and a girl who overdoses on heroine, they must contend with the creature Oriax, who wants to seduce Mara away from Messenger and the goddess Isthil, and with their own feelings for one another. The second book in Grant's series moves as quickly as Mara and Messenger do when they are working, gliding from one event to another, narrated by Mara's sometimes-philosophical, sometimes-snarky voice. The horrific punishments are sobering, but so are the realistic horrors that the guilty inflict on the innocent. One character redeems himself perhaps too easily, and a few loose ends hint at a possible sequel, but readers will still be satisfied with Mara's growing maturity and acceptance of her own fate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)