The Demon Trapper's Daughter

December 20, 2010
The eternal war between good and evil finds a new battlefront in this successful urban fantasy, as Oliver (the Time Rovers series for adults), in her YA debut, spins the action-packed story of a young woman following in her father's footsteps. In the economically shattered Atlanta of 2018, everyone struggles to make ends meet, but the constant depredations of demons upon humans means there's always work for those daring enough to capture them. Unfortunately, when Riley Blackthorne loses her father to a particularly dangerous demon, she's forced to pick up where her father left off, despite still being an apprentice. But something big is brewing among the demons: they know her name, and they're actively hunting her. Despite a new master who hates her, a friendly rivalry with another demon trapper, the threat of her father's corpse being reanimated by necromancers, and the possibility of a full-on
demon incursion, Riley is determined to prove her worth as a trapper, or die trying. With a strong female heroine, a fascinating setting, and a complex, thrill-soaked story, this series is off to a strong start. Ages 12–up.

January 15, 2011

It's 2018, and 17-year-old Riley Blackthorne just wants to fight demons. In this gritty paranormal offering, demons (and the occasional angel) prowl the streets of Atlanta, Ga., and Riley wants to leave her nomadic school to join her father in the Demon Trappers' Guild. When a solo trapping goes wrong and surfaces on YouTube, Riley faces ridicule from classmates and Guild members alike. Thanks to her mother's death, the mounting bills and her father's dangerous job, Riley is more world-weary than a typical teen. But Paul Blackthorne and his former apprentice, the rugged and misunderstood Denver Beck (who alternates the narration with Riley), can't keep her safe forever, especially when demons start calling her name. The tension builds steadily as the demons get stronger and Riley contends with a new boss and necromancers. Adult author Oliver successfully sets up a series with interesting characters and a detailed world, but the ending feels less like a conclusion than a lead-in for the next book. More developed and less torrid than standard teen paranormal fare, which is a nice change. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-The year is 2018, and Riley is no ordinary Atlanta teen. She is training to be a demon trapper like her father. The economy has gone to hell, and so it makes perfect sense that hell would send forth demons to wreak havoc on Earth. The opening scene has Riley trapping a lower level Biblio-fiend that lives in a university library and storing him in a sippy cup until turning him in. This sounds like it is a tongue-in-cheek novel, but it is not. Riley's father is killed by demons, and there is some mysterious link to Riley, placing her life in danger. Her father's hot bad-boy former apprentice, Beck, has a crush on Riley, as does the kinder, wholesome, and religious trapper Simon, creating the romantic angle. There is a mystery involving the potency of the Holy Water used to fight demons and treat the wounds they inflict, and the fact that demons seem to know Riley's name. Another intriguing subplot is how the rich can have dead people reanimated to be their slaves for a year after death, and families must sit vigil over the graves of loved ones to keep this from happening. Catholic dogma permeates this book and will either offend or entrance practitioners. While the various twists and subplots seem ridiculous at times, on the whole this first in a series is engrossing.-Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 Atlanta, in 2018, is a city full of demons, and 17-year-old Riley Blackthornes one ambition is to become a demon-trapper like her dad. Things get personal when he dies at the hands of a level-five demon, and between trying to guard her fathers grave for 12 nights (so he wont be reanimated into a zombie) and getting to the bottom of a scam involving fake holy water, Rileys life has never been more complicated. Oliver offers plenty to appreciate in this inventive twist on the story of a girl breaking into a mans career field, including a nifty demon-classification system; a freaky zombie-creation business; a romantic undercurrent between Riley and her fathers ex-partner, Beck (who is five years older and presents the books lone awkward bit in his clunky Georgia drawl); and a subplot with an earnest young suitor. Readers will delight in the novelty and eagerly await the next book in this proposed series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)