Eternal

Gr 7—10—This book's beautiful cover will attract gothic paranormal romance readers, but the plot will leave them wanting more-and confused, unless they've read Immortal (2009) and Betrayal (2010, both HarperCollins). Reliable, down-to-earth Sarah, a student at the posh Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, on the English moors, is close with fellow students Evie and Helen. They are bound by the elemental powers that they share-water for Evie, air for Helen, and earth for Sarah. Sarah is plagued by dreams of ugly, misshapen creatures, accompanied by the relentless sound of drumming, but now the emotional distance she feels from Evie and Helen prevents her from confiding in them. Evie is grieving after losing her love, Sebastian, in Betrayal. Helen is moody and withdrawn after her unloving mother, the school's evil High Mistress, died and crossed into the shadow world as a vengeful spirit to serve the corrupt king. Sarah, part-Romany, loves Cal, a fellow Gypsy, but he's traveling. She feels the presence of her great-grandmother, a former student, and uses her diary to help her when Evie is kidnapped. Helen has an accident, and her mother reappears. Sarah suspects that the new student, Velvet Romaine, the wealthy, tabloid-worthy daughter of a rock star, is somehow involved. The two-dimensional characters, melodramatic plotting, and repeated phrases get annoying. Strictly for fans of the earlier books.—Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton