After years of moving all over the country Claire Brennan is
happy to be starting her second year at Emerson Academy, and though her single
mother still frets way too much over her safety, Claire hopes the days of
constantly looking over their shoulders for an unseen danger are finished. Claire
has made some close friends, and she’s hoping her crush will ask her to the
formal. Everything is going so well. Until the visions begin. And the psychic
messages of danger from someone named Helena. And Claire meets Alec, a
mysterious new student with too many secrets.
Alec is a Grigori, an
angelic being whose purpose is to watch and, when necessary, eliminate Nephilim
(children of angels and humans) to protect humanity. Alec has gone AWOL from
his duties and is hiding as a normal teenager at Emerson, but when his
godfather finds him and asks Alec to locate a Halfblood (the progeny of human
and Grigori whose existence is forbidden) at Emerson, Alec can’t refuse.
This new entry into the angelic fiction genre is written in
both Claire and Alec’s voices. Both main characters are well-drawn, with
believable motivations and reactions to their situations. The angelic angle is
played down somewhat, with the Grigori being ruled by a governing council
instead of a heavenly father, which enables the story to develop without
religious overtones. The ending leaves enough room for a sequel, and fans of
the genre will definitely demand one.
~by Heather Miller Cover for School Library Journal
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