Flock: Stork Trilogy, Book 3

Gr 8 Up—The final title (2012) in Delsol's "Stork Trilogy" opens with Katla starting the first day of her senior year of high school. Missing her boyfriend Jack, who is now in college, Katla agrees to help BFF Penny shepherd some new students around school, and is shocked when they turn out to be none other than Jinky (an apprentice shaman) and Marik (a merman), whom she encountered on her trip to Iceland in Frost (2011, both Candlewick). Katla's earlier promise to give her baby sister Leira to the Water Queen in exchange for her help has come back to haunt her, and Marik is there to collect. Combine this with nightmarish dreams having to do with her Stork abilities (matching souls with their birth mothers), her grandfather's increasing frailty, and Leira's frequent illnesses, and Katla's year is off to a rocky start. Is there a way to save her baby sister? Like the other books in the series, tales from Norse mythology are woven into the story. The plot plods a bit in the middle section, but picks up nicely at the end. Julia Whelan's narration is capable but a bit slow at times. A must-buy where the previous books in the series are popular, but not a stand-alone purchase.—Julie Paladino, East Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, NC