Wildcat Fireflies

June 15, 2011
Adolescence is hard enough without having to save the world from death and destruction.

This sequel to Meridian (2009) opens three weeks after 16-year-old Meridian, a part-human/part-angel Fenestra, or "window" that helps dying souls pass on, and her protector/boyfriend Tens saved a Colorado town from Nocti (evil spirits in human form that try to send souls to hell). They're traveling the country, looking for fellow Fenestras, when Meridian feels drawn to Carmel, Ind. Fifteen-year-old Juliet, an unknowing Fenestra, has been living in this sleepy town at a center that doubles as an group home for the elderly and a foster-care home. The teens' alternating viewpoints tell this hefty story, which, like many second novels in a series, builds on the first but ultimately leads up to a third. Meridian provides back story, uses her great-aunt's journal to discover more about Fenestras and schemes to find Juliet and save her before she's forced by Nocti to become one of their own. All the while she ponders her free will, her developing body and why Tens keeps putting off their first time having sex. Meanwhile, Juliet gives (over and over again) a look at her abusive situation—she's constantly punished and must care nonstop for the residents—and her burgeoning Fenestra talents.

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August 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-In this sequel to Meridian (Delacorte, 2009), Meridian is learning what it takes to be a Fenestra, one who helps souls pass from life to death. With the help of her protectors Tens and Custos, she sets out to find others like her. They enter the town of Helios and meet Joi, a friendly waitress who helps them get acclimated to their new surroundings. At the same time, Juliet, a 15-year-old orphan, works to make a nursing home that doubles as an orphanage a haven for all who dwell there. She comforts the younger inhabitants and helps the older ones pass to the next life. She struggles, always questioning her worth. The head mistress neglects and mistreats everyone. With the help of local townspeople, Meridian, Tens, and Custos help Juliet learn of her Fenestral roots and eventually convince her of her true calling. At the same time, other forces threaten the Fenestras. While readers may have a hard time understanding the flow of the book at first due to the dual first-person accounts, sticking with it is well worth the effort. An intricately woven web of crossing paths leads to a beautiful tale of self-discovery, self-acceptance, communication, family, trust, and love.-Kathryn Kennedy, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 Meridian (2009) introduced the title charactera Fenestra, or half angeland her protector, Tens. This sequel picks up in Indiana, where the pair searches for other Fenestras and finds Juliet, a teenage ward of the state living in a nursing homeorphanage, simultaneously helping younger children and shepherding the elderly into the great beyond. Chapters alternate between Meridian's and Juliet's experiences, and readers will be happy to see Meridian and Tens' relationship deepen and develop after falling hard and fast for one another in the first volume. Although the writing is choppy, the overwrought emotion and drama will find a certain audience in those who like their supernatural romances dark and broody.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)