Seventeen-year-old Ellie is spending a year at a New Zealand school while her parents vacation. Making friends gets easier when she puts her tae kwon do training to use by choreographing the fight scenes in a local college production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. But there's something she doesn't like about the gorgeous actress Reka ybe it's the fact that her pupils disappear. On the other hand, there's something she does like about hunky Mark spite his tendency to hypnotize her. Both, it turns out, are locked in a mystical battle that is steeped in ancient Maori lore. Healey's prose is a notch above others writing in this genre, and her take on Ellie's human relationships, especially with "frenemy" Iris and buddy Kevin is finely drawn. The supernatural story, however, never quite clicks. Still, the Maori legends that provide the basis for the plot (and which are further explained in an afterword) are a breath of fresh air after all the vampires, demons, and fairies out there.

Ellie is in her final year at a New Zealand boarding school, living the typical teen's life: classes, friends, a black belt in tae kwon do and a crush on an adorable yet enigmatic boy named Mark. The big news locally revolves around the Eyeslasher murders, a series of killings in which the murderer removes his victims' eyes. After Ellie has a run-in with a woman who nearly turns Ellie into a tree, Mark reveals his true nature to Ellie. He is part patupaiarehe , the Maori equivalent of fairies, and some evil patupaiarehe are behind the Eyeslasher murders and on a quest for immortality. Though not a supernatural creature herself, Ellie has some inherited magical talent related to the patupaiarehe . Debut novelist Healey pulls readers in immediately with Ellie's funny, occasionally profane and often self-deprecating voice. The smart, strong protagonist is supported by a cast of equally intelligent peers. Fast-paced adventure and an unfamiliar, frightening enemy set a new scene for teen urban fantasy. (Urban fantasy. YA)

There's a lot of promise but too much ground covered and too delayed a reward in this boarding school drama turned eerie fantasy. Set in debut author Healey's native New Zealand, the narrative follows snarky 17-year-old Ellie Spencer as she works on a production of <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">A Midsummer Night's Dream with her asexual best friend, while stalking Mark, an enigmatic crush, and worrying about a string of recent murders. What starts out as a simple whodunit soon morphs into a surprising blend of magical realism and ancient Maori mythology involving a magic mask, Mark's mind-controlling charm bracelet, and beings of “weird ageless beauty” who live in the mist, shaking up Ellie's view of the world. While Healey's prose is skilled and her characters well-formed (Ellie is an especially charismatic heroine), minor plot threads drop off—such as Ellie's mother's cancer—and the process through which the deeper story is revealed (a battle for survival between a small group of human warriors and the “fairy people,” also called “patupaiarehe”) feels frustratingly drawn out. By contrast, the thrilling last third of the novel, dedicated to the climactic battle, seems underdeveloped. Ages 12–up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)

Gr 9 Up-Ellie Spencer wakes to the realization that there are empty beer cans at the foot of her bed and a boy on her floor. Neither is acceptable at her boarding school on the South Island of New Zealand. She remembers her promise to Kevin to assist with fight choreography for a production of Midsummer Night's Dream , directed by beautiful Iris Tsang, who, to Ellie's extreme annoyance, has a crush on Kevin. Ellie literally runs into mysterious and gorgeous Mark Nolan, receiving an odd shock in the process. He later warns her not to go out alone at night but then somehow causes her to forget their conversation while remembering his warning. On her way to practice one evening, Ellie crosses paths with a woman who sends a chill down her spine, only to find that this person, Reka Gordon, has been cast as Titania. Reka seems to have a power over Kevin that arouses Ellie's suspicions. In the background of all this strange interpersonal activity, news reports continue to cover the activities of a serial killer, the Eyeslasher, on the North Island. From this point, the weirdness and excitement increase exponentially. Healey has done a wonderful job of introducing Maori legends into modern life while using the play and Ellie's classics work to provide Shakespearean and Greek stories to bracket what, for most readers, will be a new mythology. This story starts off fast and strong and just builds from there. Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Ellie Spencer agrees to spend a year at a New Zealand boarding school while her parents take a world tour. Feeling awkward and out of place at Mansfield College, she is grateful for Kevin WaldgraveÆs friendship. But when Kevin talks Ellie into orchestrating fight choreography for a theater production, it entails her leaving the campus at night, even though a murderer stalks the area. The first evening, Ellie encounters Reka, an ethereal beauty who has joined the theater cast. Then an expected hall collision with Mark Nolan, a hot day student, leaves Ellie tingling with more than suppressed sexual excitement. Events reveal that neither Reka nor Mark is entirely human, and Ellie holds special power herself and a unique place in the mystical world of Maori mythology. As the brutal murders and strange events coalesce, they point to a more sinister plot that threatens to destroy the entire North Island unless Mark and Ellie can prevent it. Extensive explanations of Maori culture and mythology occasionally bog down this mysterious and promising premise, and unfortunately, the glossary does not include sufficient entries to prevent the reader from searching elsewhere for definitions. Despite these minor flaws, this book offers likeable characters with mythical heritage, reminiscent of Percy Jackson, tying together myth and reality into a cohesive whole. The author effectively avoids a predictable happy ending. Mark is brutally killed, but his unique ancestry allows him to return as a taniwha, a sea creature, that is still able to converse with Ellie.ùNancy K. Wallace.