FICTION

The Beautiful and the Damned

by Jessica VERDAY
266p. S & S/Simon Pulse. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781442488359. LC 2013016758.
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Gr 9 Up—Sixteen-year-old Cyn Hargrave escapes Sleepy Hollow after waking up to find herself covered in blood and her boyfriend, Hunter, dead. Hiding out in a small town in upstate New York, she soons discovers that she can manipulate others, prompting them to loan her a car or buy her alcohol and cigarettes. Suffering strange blackouts, haunted by an evil spirit named Vincent, and on the run from Hunter's ex-cop brother, Cyn makes an unlikely friend in Avian, a half-angel, half-demon. Together, they try to break her connection with dead souls and unravel the mystery of her blackouts. Fans of Verday's "The Hollows" trilogy (S & S) will enjoy this dark, supernatural companion. Strong language and alcohol use may make this book a more suitable choice for older teens.—Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI
Cyn fled Sleepy Hollow after apparently killing her boyfriend during a blackout, and his revenge-seeking brother Declan has tracked Cyn down. Meanwhile, Revenant Avian recognizes that Cyn is an "Echo," someone possessed by the dead. Avian and Cyn's mutual-dislike-turned-romance feels forced, and readers will need a strong recall of Verday's Hollow trilogy to make full sense of this companion's mythology; still, the premise is intriguing.
Reviewed by Karen Alexander , Jan 01, 2014

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