Mar 22 2019

The Curses by Laure Eve

Faber and Faber 2019. ISBN: 9780571328048.
(Age: 12+) Recommended. The Curses, sequel to The Graces, follows The Grace children and their recently resurrected friend, Wolf. Wolf is the first person who has ever been resurrected but something's off with Wolf, is it just that he'd been dead and come back or is he completely changed? No longer wary of the love he and Fenrin share, the pair grow closer and more reckless. Meanwhile, Thalia grows close to Nathaniel, their dead cousin's boyfriend who only seems to be encouraged by Thalia and Iona's resemblance. Is it only Summer that can see something's wrong? And how does the Grace family curse play into all this?
Strange things have begun to happen in town and it seems witchcraft is never far away. With River's power and the handful of other amateurs trying their hand at magic, it's up to the residence witches to reign in the magic before anyone else can be harmed. With the help of River, the wealth of Marcus' supernatural knowledge, and a great deal of initiative perhaps Fenrin, Thalia, and Summer can clean up their mess before their parents find out.
With magic and plenty of mischief, Eve's novel explores grief, greed, and making mistakes. This coming of age novel shows that everyone has a lot of learn, regardless of their age with not only the children but also the parents being shown as complicated and conflicted beings. I would recommend for lovers of fantasy twelve and up.
Kayla Gaskell