Awaken

Gr 7 Up—Pierce Oliviera is one powerful 17-year-old. She's got the love and devotion of John Hayden and with that comes tremendous responsibility-by loving him back she's agreed to live forevermore in the Underworld as its queen. Everything seems to be going pretty well, as well as it can be going in the Underworld, until the Furies exact their revenge and John ends up dead. No one thought he could die, and maybe he's not all the way dead, but the problem is that the Furies have returned and the fates of both the Underworld and Isla Huesos, Pierce's home on Earth, are at stake if they aren't stopped. Pierce must leave the Underworld along with some assorted buddies to get John back and stop those pesky Furies before everything and everyone she loves are destroyed. This fun and engaging take on the Persephone/Hades myth will definitely appeal to devotees of Greek mythology, tragic love stories, and paranormal tales. Cabot does a great job of bringing readers up to speed, and although it would be beneficial to have read the earlier books, there is enough backstory for those who just pick up this title on a whim. The author offers a story that is full of nail-biting, heart-racing moments, but that has bits of humor peppered throughout and brings the characters to life. Sex is alluded to a couple of times throughout the story, but never specifically or graphically described. Fake curse words like "fudge" and other nonspecific stand-ins for the words are used liberally, but there's nothing gratuitous enough that would make the book inappropriate for younger teens. Recommend not only to those who love the other books in the trilogy, but also to any readers who enjoy a little romance with their myths.—Traci Glass, Eugene Public Library, OR