Steadfast

May 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-This second installment in the "Spellcaster" series (HarperCollins) picks up where the first installment left off. Friends Nadia, Mateo, and Verlaine believe they have defeated the evil Sorceress Elizabeth but quickly discover she is still alive and harbors much more destructive plans for Captive's Sound. As Nadia continues working on developing her own magical powers in hopes of stopping the witch, she constantly feels the sting of her mother's abandonment of her family and her duty to teach Nadia the Craft. As the villain unleashes a devastating illness on the town, Nadia is forced to choose between succumbing to the One Beneath's power or risking the lives of the inhabitants of Captive's Sound. The plot moves along at an engaging, quick clip, and readers will enjoy delving deeper into the complex rules governing the witches and witchcraft. While the love story between Nadia and Mateo sometimes strays into the overly dramatic and saccharine, a new romance between Verlaine and demon Asa adds a promising twist. Readers are ultimately left with a finale that provides ample room for the story to continue, and fans will eagerly await the next installment. A good purchase for libraries that own the first title.-Kelsey Johnson-Kaiser, Columbus Public Library, WI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2014
All's not well in Captive's Sound; the ancient evil Nadia and friends believed they'd vanquished has not only survived, their efforts have made it stronger than ever (Spellcaster, 2013). Having seen Nadia's powers, the One Beneath intends to claim her, and Elizabeth, His loyal servant, vows to bring Nadia to Him, at any cost. On Nadia's side are her friends: Verlaine and Mateo, her Steadfast, who boosts her powers. After Nadia refuses to become her apprentice, Elizabeth--with chilling, casual indifference to consequences--proves how far she'll go to change her mind. Nadia's friends offer support, but Mateo's handicapped by intensifying visions, a family curse, while Verlaine struggles to be seen at all. Among the few who notice her is Asa, Elizabeth's demon, whose complexity deepens the story. Verlaine's curse embodies every teen's nightmare: to live unloved and unnoticed; her stubborn courage has a touching grace. As the series evolves, the rules of witchcraft and the beliefs of its practitioners are coming into focus, but intriguing mysteries remain. Witches and Steadfasts are always women, yet Mateo is a Steadfast and possibly more. Who and what constrained the One Beneath? What are Nadia and her allies willing to do, or refrain from doing, to stop Him? The eternal conflict between ends and means keeps the tension taut and the plot humming. Stay tuned. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 15, 2013
Grades 7-10 The first barrier between our world and the evil entity known as The One Beneath has been breached and redemption is impossibleunless untrained teen witch Nadia, along with her steadfast Mateo and friend Verlaine, can resist a seemingly invincible sorceress' power and a demon's meddling, all while remaining true to their friendship and ideals. This second book in the Spellcaster series touches fairly lightly on main characters Nadia and Mateo but does spend productive time developing secondary characters Verlaine and demon Asa, and it is overall just as smoothly written and appealing as the first entry. Gray uses unique and lyrical free-verse spells, spoken by both Nadia and the dark sorceress Elizabeth, as inroads to sets of memoriesa clever tactic that helps readers understand motivation while providing backstories that make it easy to bond with Nadia and her friends. The ending will provide terrific fodder for book discussions, so make sure you have enough copies to go around. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Gray, author of the bestselling Evernight series, is onto something similar here, which means plenty of promo, plenty of awareness.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
This sequel to Spellcaster picks up shortly after Nadia, Mateo, and Verlaine saved the town of Captive's Sound from evil witch Elizabeth. In addition to fighting their own inner demons, the teens now must battle Elizabeth and her attractive demon helper. While the magical system Gray creates is fascinating, the characters are rather two-dimensional. Fans of L. J. Smith's Secret Circle books will enjoy this series.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)