This book evoked mixed feelings in several friends, but overall, I liked it. Vera seemed pretty realistic in terms of not wanting to/not being able to talk about her feelings about her mom leaving, her dad withdrawing and especially her best friend's abandonment and then death. She also seemed realistic in her self-destructive behavior, needing an outlet for the things she couldn't figure out how to express otherwise. My main quibble is that Vera seemed to get over her dabbling with alcohol pretty easily - maybe she wasn't a full-fledged alcoholic, but she was definitely using it as a crutch, and that need seemed to evaporate after getting blotto and beaten up at the work Christmas party. That struck me as a pat way of dealing with her developing problem.
Dealing with the days leading up to and immediately after Hurricane Katrina, through the eyes of a 12 year old girl living in NOLA's Ninth Ward with her 82-year old caretaker, Mama Ya-Ya. Allows the reader to see the neighborhood and the life through the eyes of a bright, creative child who sees ghosts, believes in signs, loves math and words and learning and longs to build bridges when she grows up.
Damien Locke is all set for his 16th birthday - it's the day his life of crime officially begins. It's basically a technicality - Damien's mom is the mad scientist Mistress of Mayhem, he is a shoe-in for Vilmore Academy, the ultimate school for teenage supervillains and he's already got his supervillain name picked out: Midnight Marauder. But in Golden City, all supers have a letter appear on their hand on their 16th birthday to make it official - H for heroes and V for villains. So imagine Damien's surprise when his V doesn't show up, but neither does an H; an X appears instead.
One in a spate of paranormal-themed YA books, this one held my interest more than many of the others I've read lately. Evie is a teen who has been fostered with the International Paranormal Containment Agency since she was 8 years old, working for them during that time as the only person able to see through any glamour from any paranormal. It's not breaking new ground in terms of content or teen angst, but it does have some nice "surprises".
