Touch of Frost

July 15, 2011

In this series opener, Estep adapts Greek and Norse mythology to encompass contemporary teenage warriors training to duke out ancient rivalries. 

Gwen Frost's psychometry leaves her little in common with magically gifted Valkyrie, Spartan and Amazon students at Mythos Academy. When she survives a crime that renders a classmate dead in a pool of blood, she resolves to uncover the murderer, whom administrators readily conclude is an enemy serving an evil god seeking world domination. On a hunt for clues, Gwen demonstrates an aptitude for breaking and entering, blackmail and espionage, and leverages her gift of touch to descry secrets. Despite ingenious worldbuilding, Estep follows many common conventions: Gwen's mother has recently died, and Gwen is the poor girl among rich kids at a new school where she hides in corners. Her blanching at nude statues or using overly childish aphorisms feels incongruous, given Gwen's casual attitude about the sex lives and illicit party habits of her peers; however, Gwen earns teen cred when she befriends a popular girl and asks out her crush. Fortune wildly favors her in some close calls with undecipherable foes, and, again following a popular paradigm, Gwen conveniently learns of her unique legacy at the very moment when she bravely steps into the big shoes her predecessors have left her. 

Fast-paced, edgy and imaginative enough. (Urban fantasy. 12 & up)

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November 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-Gypsy teen Gwen Frost feels that she is the least powerful student at Mythos Academy in Asheville, NC. She is surrounded by Valkyries, Spartans, Trojans, Ninjas, and Amazons, but her fighting skills are seriously limited and her magical abilities consist of psychometry-the ability to touch an object and know its history. When Gwen finds the most popular girl in her class dead in the library, however, she is determined to use her powers to discover the truth about the murder. Along the way, she gets to know bad boy Logan Quinn and Daphne Cruz, a computer-savvy Valkyrie with a crush on a band geek. She also learns that the mythical forces she scoffed at when she first came to the academy are more real than she could have imagined. While the plot is fairly predictable and the writing never rises to excellence, teens are likely to enjoy this book, which feels like a cross between Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy (Penguin, 2007) and Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" series (Hyperion). Gwen's Gypsy heritage appears to have little to do with Romani history or culture, and the rich background of the mythological characters mentioned in the book is never fully explored. Readers searching for books that explore classical mythology in a modern setting may be disappointed, but those looking for a paranormal story with a little mystery, a little action, and a little romance will eagerly embrace this book.-Misti Tidman, Licking County Library, Newark, OH

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