Tithe

Gr 9 Up—Holly Blacks gritty, urban fantasy (Margaret K. McElderry Bks., 2002) is set in a modern New Jersey where the faerie world overlaps our own. Kaye, a 16-year-old blonde Asian girl, has always felt like an outsider. She doesn't know that she is a changeling. As a child, her companions were the kindly faeries Lutie, Spike, and Gristle. Kaye and her dysfunctional, rock-star-wannabe mom have been on the road for six years. A strange attack on her mom brings them back to their home in New Jersey. Here, in addition to her old faerie friends, Kaye encounters Roiben, a wounded faerie knight whose life she saves. Kaye is drawn to the steamy Roiben and into the middle of a power struggle between two faerie courts. Kate Rudd is masterful in voicing Kaye, her mom, grandmother, teen friends, and the supernatural creatures. She uses pitch, pacing, and inflection effectively to distinguish the voices of faeries, both common and royal, male and female. Twists and turns in the plot require active listening, but those who invest their time will be drawn into a suspenseful, tightly wrought, otherworldly saga. This dark tale of deceit, danger, and romance with its plot-driven narrative and unusual characters is a perfect choice for audio format.—Patricia McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA