Envy

August 1, 2012
The Furies from Greek mythology return to terrorize high school students in this heart-pounding follow-up to 2011's Fury. Skylar is new to the small town of Ascension, Maine. She's moved from Alabama to stay with her aunt and harbors a guilty secret that makes her a prime target for the Furies. Manifesting as three eerily beautiful sisters, one of their lot, Meg, easily fools Skylar into thinking she is her friend and begins to engineer the girl's downfall. Meanwhile, deeply sympathetic Em, who made a desperate bargain with the Furies to save the life of her friend/love interest, JD, frantically searches for a way to destroy them, even as she undergoes disturbing changes. This metamorphosis is seemingly one of the central mysteries of the novel, but it will be clear to readers long before it is actually revealed--some plot tightening might have served to better preserve the suspense. However, the melding of myth and modern-day high school life works well, usually striking an appropriately unsettling tone but at times even resulting in some wickedly funny passages--"That's all it took...Boy sees girl attempting sacrifice in graveyard, boy falls back in love. Why didn't I think of that before?" The Furies make pleasingly vicious villains; horror fans won't want to miss this second in a planned trilogy. (Horror. 12-18)

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January 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-The Furies are back in Ascension, Maine, and continuing to wreak havoc upon their chosen victims. Set a few months after the end of Fury (S & S, 2011), Envy finds Em an introspective, haunted shadow of her former vivacious self. Warned that the seeds that she ate would prevent her from divulging what really happened that winter when two classmates died, the teen is consumed with the need to eradicate the Furies from her town. Separating herself from former friends and activities, she begins spending time with Drea, whose friend Sasha committed suicide to escape the Furies, and who is trying to help her find a way to banish the malevolent trio. Into this maelstrom comes Skylar, a girl from Alabama who is determined to reinvent herself; to banish the ungainly girl overshadowed and ridiculed by her older, perfect, pageant-winning sister; and to become the popular, admired Queen. Her desire brings her into the orbit of the three Furies and makes her their unwitting pawn. As with the first book, all does not end happily, setting the scene for the final volume in the trilogy. Purchase where the first one is popular or where a new paranormal series is needed.-Suanne B. Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL

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