February 15, 2011
More serious in tone than Radiance (2010), this supernatural adventure story finds perpetually 12-year-old Riley and her 14-year-old guide, Bodhi, first battling then helping Rebecca, an angry ghost child who initially seems to be evil personified. After the death of her mother, Rebecca, the daughter of an unloving plantation owner in the 1700s, was ignored by her father and reared by her family's uncaring household slaves, leaving her bereft and psychologically damaged. The slaves on the plantation were cruelly and barbarically treated, and they eventually rebelled, killing Rebecca and her father. Rebecca is holding the ghosts of some of these slaves in what could be called memory hell, a place where they must constantly relive their most nightmarish remembrances. Riley, who is dead and existing in the "Here & Now," is compelled to go where angels fear to tread when Rebecca captures Bodhi and Riley's faithful dog Buttercup. In the rather tedious adventure that follows, Riley frees her friends, then, with their help, tries to bring forgiveness and peace to the slaves and Rebecca, so they can all cross the bridge to the happiness that awaits on the other side. The backdrop of the story, a slave revolt in the West Indies, adds some historical weight, but the situation remains abstract and the characters only marginally interesting, leaving readers ultimately unengaged. (Ghost story. 9-12)
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
April 1, 2011
Gr 4-7-Riley Bloom is 12 and regrets that she'll never have the opportunity to be a real-live teenager. She is dead, and her new job as Soul Catcher is to "coax and convince" lingering spirits to cross the bridge to their new home-the Here & Now. In her second book, Riley encounters Rebecca, an angry, bratty ghost-girl, and meets Prince Kanta, an African prince. The author presents glimpses of a slave revolt in the Danish West Indies during the 1780s. The historical experiences of slaves are coupled with the reflections of Bodhi, Riley's guide and coach, on his personal experience with bullying. Understanding and enjoying this book does not hinge on having read Radiance (Square Fish, 2010), but readers will be quickly drawn to Riley and want to learn more about this spunky character and her previous experiences. The author's sharp contemporary wit in concert with her fascinating fantasy setting and important historical connections will draw readers through this enjoyable novel and have them begging for Riley's third adventure.-Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego
Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2011
Grades 5-8 No'l continues the Riley Bloom series (an offshoot of her Immortals series), set in the realm of life after death known as the Here & Now. Twelve-year-old Riley is on vacation in the Virgin Islands with her beloved dog and her mentor, a slightly older teen boy named Bodhi, who is supposed to help her progress enough to move on to the next step. Instead, they get embroiled in the plight of vengeful Rebecca, the teen daughter of a plantation owner who died during a slave revolt in 1733. No'l ably captures the cadence of tweenspeak in this lively, action-packed adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)