The Reaction

Gr 8 Up—Coggan picks up where The Catalyst left off with the second part of this fantasy duology. Rose Elmsworth is dealing with more than any teenager should. Her adopted father, David, has been arrested and detained for being a Hybrid—a dangerous, magical, were-beast; the Department, the brutal Government-run law enforcement agency for which Rose works, is being torn apart by warring factions; and Rose is finding it harder and harder to keep secret the fact that she is also a Hybrid. As the factions clash with escalating violence, David's and Rose's past comes to light, and it becomes increasingly clear that David—and the secrets he's hidden all along—is the key to putting a stop to the conflict. Teenage author Coggan gives readers an action-packed sequel to her debut, but fails to develop any of her characters, barring David, despite everything she puts them through. Rose continues her streak of snarky superiority from the first volume, but she quickly becomes tiresome when multiple opportunities for growth pass her by. The novel's saving grace are the flashbacks of David's life; readers get glimpses into his existence before the war, leading to quite a few surprises and a twist ending. While her writing needs some polishing, Coggan proves that she is an up-and-coming force in the fantasy genre.