RAVENFALL

Two lonely young people team up to fight an ancient evil.

Anna, 13 and the youngest child in a Jewish and Irish family that is psychically endowed, is dismayed about her own gift of psychometry. For Anna, touching someone who has experienced another’s death gives her a vision of that death; it’s hard for her to understand how that could be useful. Her family runs Ravenfall, an inn in the magical town of Wick, Oregon, “where magic is never far from your fingertips” and the veil between the Otherworld and our own is somewhat permeable. As the family anticipates their annual celebration of Samhain, 14-year-old Colin arrives, seeking refuge after his parents’ murders. Colin has known little about his own magical powers but discovers that his Irish ancestor Fin Varra, one of the faerie folk also known as the King of the Dead, plans to use him to reclaim a place among the living. The first-person narrative switches between Anna’s and Colin’s perspectives. Both kids are home-schooled and isolated, Colin as his family fled mysterious pursuers and Anna as she struggles with being quirky and different. The house Ravenfall is enchanted, taking care of itself and its occupants and sparring with Max, the resident Jabberwocky, a shape-changing guardian posing as a cat. Magical traditions, creatures, and objects abound in this intriguing setting, offering possibilities for sequels. A pitched climactic battle provides the young heroes with a swift if somewhat predictable victory over the dark forces.

Largely spellbinding.