About the Author

Holly Black is the author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), the Modern Faerie Tales series, the Curse Workers series, Doll Bones, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, The Darkest Part of the Forest, the Magisterium series (with Cassandra Clare), and the Folk of the Air series. She has been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award, a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of both an Andre Norton Award and a Newbery Honor. She lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret door. Visit her at BlackHolly.com.

Reviews

Annette Curtis Klause author of Blood and Chocolate and Silver Kiss Not only are the descriptions of our world and the world of Faery crisp, delicious, and detailed, but the characters are intriguing and complex, also. I like that these are feral, amoral faeries and not the tame, innocent Victorian version, and that the teenagers aren't tame, either.

Annette Curtis Klause author of Blood and Chocolate and Silver Kiss Not only are the descriptions of our world and the world of Faery crisp, delicious, and detailed, but the characters are intriguing and complex, also. I like that these are feral, amoral faeries and not the tame, innocent Victorian version, and that the teenagers aren't tame, either.

Gr 9 Up-Holly Blacks gritty, urban fantasy (Margaret K. McElderry Bks., 2002) is set in a modern New Jersey where the faerie world overlaps our own. Kaye, a 16-year-old blonde Asian girl, has always felt like an outsider. She doesn't know that she is a changeling. As a child, her companions were the kindly faeries Lutie, Spike, and Gristle. Kaye and her dysfunctional, rock-star-wannabe mom have been on the road for six years.ÅA strange attack on her mom brings them back to their home in New Jersey. Here, in addition to her old faerie friends, Kaye encounters Roiben, a wounded faerie knight whose life she saves. Kaye is drawn to the steamy Roiben and into the middle of a power struggle between two faerie courts. Kate Rudd is masterful in voicing Kaye, her mom, grandmother, teen friends, and the supernatural creatures. She uses pitch, pacing, and inflection effectively to distinguish the voices of faeries, both common and royal, male and female. Twists and turns in the plot require active listening, but those who invest their time will be drawn into a suspenseful, tightly wrought, otherworldly saga.ÅThis dark tale of deceit, danger, and romance with its plot-driven narrative and unusual characters is a perfect choice for audio format.-Patricia McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.