The Locket

Gr 9 Up—On her 17th birthday, while dressing to go out with her boyfriend, Katie finds a locket in a pile of her grandmother's jewelry. Inscribed on it are the words: "Some mistakes weren't meant to last." Inside are pictures of her grandparents when they were young. Their love had lasted, and Katie is sure that her relationship with Isaac is destined to do the same—as long as he doesn't find out about her one rum- and anger-fueled indiscretion with Mitch. She puts on the necklace, but knows something is wrong when Isaac arrives late. In the car, he tells her that she and Mitch were seen kissing and drives away, leaving her stranded in the middle of a heavy thunderstorm. As she wishes she could go back in time and neither drink nor kiss Mitch, the locket grows hot enough to burn her skin and her shirt where it touches. As suddenly as they began, both the pain and rain stop, and Katie finds herself back at the party two weeks earlier. She is thrilled at the chance to undo her mistake, but as the two weeks repeat, she realizes that everything is not exactly as it was before, and that she has to live and grow with those consequences. Although The Locket could stand as an example of the perils of underage drinking, the paranormal aspects will keep even the most reluctant reader devouring the book to its satisfying, if a bit too convenient, conclusion.—Suanne Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL