Illusions

Gr 7—10—In Spells (2010), the sequel to Wings (2009, both HarperTeen), faerie Laurel chose her human boyfriend David over Tamani, her faerie guardian, who then disappeared. Now Laurel's thrown when Tamani unexpectedly shows up at the start of her senior year, posing as a Scottish exchange student. Klea, the mysterious female troll hunter who saved Laurel from her evil troll nemesis in the previous book, turns up in town, too. She asks Laurel to look after a shy Japanese exchange student who isn't "exactly…human." Suspecting that Yuki's a faerie, Laurel is wary of both Klea and Yuki's motives since Yuki doesn't respond to Laurel's efforts at friendship and might even hate her. When Tamani befriends Yuki to gather information, Laurel can't help feeling jealous. There have been signs of trolls in the vicinity, but no actual sightings until they attack Laurel and her friends and then disappear through an invisible barrier. After David and Tamani come to blows over her, Laurel breaks off with both of them—but can't deny her attraction for Tamani. Everything comes to a climax at the winter dance, when they discover what Yuki really is and what she's capable of. Readers are left hanging just as the action gets exciting, guaranteeing another book in this romantic paranormal series.—Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton