Michelle Knudsen
Candlewick, 2014
Grades 9-12 343 pgs
Paranormal Romance
Cyn's life is all about heading the tech crew for the school play, lusting after her hopeless crush, Ryan, and hanging with her best friend, Annie. Suddenly Annie is also in love; with the school's hot new librarian. Annie starts behaving strangely and Cyn digs deep to find the cause of her unfamiliar behavior. Upon meeting the librarian, who is monopolizing Annie's time, Cyn gets a strange vibe from him. Further investigation reveals that he's a demon who has invaded their school to suck the life force from the teenage population, become the demon king, and crown Annie his queen. Other students are also behaving strangely zombie-like as the life force is drained from their bodies. Crush Ryan is concerned and turns to Cyn for help. The two new friends team up to overcome the demon librarian, as well as the other demons who find their way to the school, and free their friends from his grasp. The partnership turns to love and romance ensues. The demon adventures are all occurring while Cyn and Ryan are participating in a school production of Sweeney Todd (Ryan plays Sweeney), which is a demon favorite. The final show-down is the opening night climax and all the players will never be the same.
I was intrigued by this book, both from the title and the cover. Evil librarian are always fun (especially sexy ones) and I couldn't wait to crack into this title (not released for publication until September). It did not disappoint. The demon librarian was deliciously creepy. Cyn ventures to the demon underworld and actually witnesses the demon war for power, which was cool. Through all the scary business, there is humor and a tongue-in-cheek lightness that reminds the reader that the book is meant to be enjoyed. The romance had a lot of build-up and never moves beyond two kisses with a promise of more to come. Cyn is a likable, brave, and stubborn character that teenagers will relate to. She overcomes her fears to save her friend and her loyalty never wavers. The action never stops, the books reads fast and is hard to put down. Evil Librarian will appeal to girls more than boys and is a great choice for reluctant readers. In order to save her friend and thwart the demon librarian, Cyn, who has an unusual trait making her resistant to demon powers, makes a deal with a female demon, who demands two more visits to the demon world. These visits open a door to further sequels.and demon adventures for Cyn. I just hope they involve evil and sexy librarians.
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