Seven Black Diamonds

Gr 9 Up—Contemporary issues are woven into a futuristic story in this exciting urban fantasy. Eilidh is a faery princess in a world at war. Her mother, the Queen of Blood and Rage, declared war on humans many years ago. In response, anyone containing even a drop of faery blood was banished to the Hidden Realms. Humans have nearly ruined the natural world with their horrible environmental policies, while the faeries have sustained a brutal terrorist campaign. The seven black diamonds are "sleepers," carefully bred humans with faery blood, brought up in human families in preparation for future service to the Queen. Abernathy is unaware that she is one of those seven black diamonds. As she discovers more about her role in the faery kingdom, Eilidh struggles to find a way to leave a legacy apart from her mother's endless war. As their story lines begin to connect, secrets are revealed and surprising coalitions are formed in the effort to bridge the divide between faery and human. Once again, Marr has built an urban fantasy world that readers will find irresistible. The contemporary issues brought up throughout the book are not always dealt with in the most elegant way; however, readers will find that the realistic dialogue and teen emotions make it easy to relate to the characters, both human and faery. Several romantic relationships develop, which adds levity to the nonstop action of this violent tale.