Doyle, Marissa. Betraying Season. Henry Holt. Sept. 2009. ISBN: 978-0-8050-8252-4. Gr 7 and up.
-- School Library Journal, 6/3/2009
The second in the Leland Sisters series, Betraying Season tells the enchanting story of Penelope (Pen) Leland. What starts out as a simple stay in Ireland leads Pen on a daring journey that makes her face terrible questions. How and what to believe? And the most compelling part of the book is when Niall, the son of a sorceress who courts Pen, has to make a choice about which is worse to forsake: morality or mortality?In this book, two of the most horrible things that most minds can conjure—murder and rape—are put into the forefront and questioned: If you had to do one or to let one happen, which would you choose? The suspense of that one simple question can make a reader’s hands go white at the knuckles from gripping the book, and shouting, “No, no, no, yes, no, yes, no, no!” while sitting on the very edge of the couch. Despite the heavy subject matter, the cover is charming and mysterious and conveys Pen's beauty and eloquence in society, similar to the cover on the previous book, Bewitching Season. Though the content is meant for people 14 and older, the diction is not challenging.—Kelli W., age 15
