Demonglass

Gr 7 Up—If Buffy and Spike had had a love child, she might be Sophie; she's pretty, snarky, kick-butt, and…demonic. She has just survived her first year at Hecate Hall, "a.k.a. Juvie for Monsters," and has reluctantly begun to come to terms with her paranormal nature. When her previously absentee father demands her presence at the headquarters of the Prodigium Council, the summer holidays really heat up for Sophie and her blood-sucking best friend, Jenna. Archer Cross, the demon-hunter-in-training on whom she had an ill-advised crush, reappears, seemingly on a mission to destroy her, and her father begins to groom her to be his successor as head of the Council and announces her betrothal to Cal, the 19-year-old groundskeeper of Hecate Hall. It's all just too much for one 16-year-old to deal with. Quick, sarcastic humor spices up the "does he like me or is he just using me to kill my demon father" angst. Girls who like their spooky stuff with a touch of frothy sweetness rather than drunk straight from the vein will find this novel delicious. Recommend Kiersten White's Paranormalcy (HarperTeen) or Brenna Yavanoff's The Replacement (Penguin, both 2010) for those looking for slightly darker selections.—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK