Emerald Green

Gr 7–10—This installment picks up where Sapphire Blue (Holt, 2012) left off. Sixteen-year-old Gwyneth Shepherd is nursing a broken heart after believing that Gideon de Villiers, her handsome time-traveling companion, has been manipulating her feelings for his own gain. To complicate matters, the Guardians who oversee her travel insist that she attend an 18th-century ball to meet with the Circle of Twelve's untrustworthy founder, Count Saint-Germain. The Count is depending on Gwyneth and Gideon to collect blood samples from the remaining Circle members to be entered into the chronograph (the time-traveling device). But what happens when the Circle is closed? Gwyneth is determined to unmask the Count's sinister plot while trying to hide her rogue time traveling from the Guardians, who might have a traitor in their midst. With the help of her grandpa, Gwyneth uncovers a hidden chronograph, secrets about her birth, and a shocking revelation about her own mortality while attending high-school parties and saving an endearing ghost from his smallpox fate. This would be quite overwhelming for any London teen, but Gwyneth handles her struggles with pluck, ingenuity, and good humor. There's so much to like in this trilogy: dry wit, enchanting first love, snarky gargoyles, a treacherous villain, mind-bending time travel, and quirky family members, who make it all worthwhile. This thrilling, yet bittersweet conclusion will leave readers feeling satisfied with the romance, but sad that the story is over.—Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ