Flock

July 1, 2012
The Stork trilogy ends in a whirlwind of Norse mythology as Katla tries to escape the deal she made in volume two. Frost (2011) saw Kat battling the Snow Queen to save her boyfriend, Jack, who has paranormal powers as Jack Frost. Kat has her stork powers, but she runs afoul of the other storks when she takes things into her own hands. Meanwhile, two characters she met in Iceland, Jinky, the rough-cut shaman-in-training, and charismatic Marik, actually a selkie in disguise as a human, show up as new students in her high school. Marik reminds her that she promised her newborn sister Leira to the court of the Norse gods as payment for the opportunity to rescue Jack. Now Kat has to find a way to save Leira without angering two Norse goddesses so much that they'll bring the entire world to an end. Yes, it sounds too over-the-top, but Delsol makes it all work with Kat's spunky personality, plenty of dry, hip wisecracks ("Jinky shook her head, demonstrating the possible origins of the headbangers brand of dance style"), friendships, rivalries, a little romance and lots of suspense. Readers will care about each character with their distinct personalities, often quirky but acceptable as real humans. The prose trips along, always entertaining, until the story just zooms, even though this plot becomes a bit complex. Best read with the previous two books, the series ends with an unforeseen but rather satisfying surprise. Although Katla's story may be over, readers will certainly look for more from this talented writer. The whole trilogy stands out for originality and great entertainment. (Paranormal adventure. 12 & up)

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