The Twelve

Gr 7 Up–An astrology-inspired action fantasy. Every year, 12 witches are born, each with powers aligning to the different astrological signs. Twin sisters Ophelia and Serena discover they are two of these after a monster attacks their orphanage. The sisters are brought into the Twelve, a coven whose mission is to battle against the Dark Twelve, a coven of evil witches. However, every time a witch uses magic, she gets closer to her inevitable fate of becoming evil. Most characters use their astrological placement as their code name. But the villains can be called “a dark Pisces, a dark Sagittarius,” which could confuse some readers. However, astrology fans may have fun with the new powers they would be assigned based on their zodiac sign. Every protagonist is female, except for “Gemini,” a shapeshifter who can take the form of any person or animal and uses they/them pronouns. Ophelia is described as having pale skin; there is diversity among the other characters. This novel did a lot of planting without a complete payoff, and it seems to be setting up a series. Graceffa’s (the “Eden” trilogy) YouTube following may be enough for readers to pick up this title.