SHATTERED MIRROR

With each of her books, teen author Atwater-Rhodes delves deeper into her vampire, witch, and witch-healer world, where by this third outing (Demon in My View, 2000, etc.), humans have practically ceased to matter. Vampire hunter Sarah is a witch in her own right as well as the daughter of Dominique, one of the strongest of her line. Determined to find and kill the infamous vampire Nicholas, Sarah heads off to high school pretending to be human, and discovers that a growing friendship with weak vampire siblings Christopher and Nissa may be as dangerous as it is forbidden. The combination of the mundane high-school scene, broadly painted evil, and the superpowers at war ensures horror fans will be captivated. A quick read, there is less interior exploration and atmospherics than in previous titles, but Atwater-Rhodes will continue to please her many fans with further delineation of the terrible powers and emotional sufferings of her particular brood of vampires and witches. And the rather abrupt conversion of Sarah (though from what to what shall go unspoiled in these pages) is more of a jolting transformation this time around. The power of love and blood rules the creatures we meet in this alternate universe and the only sure things are the horrifying threats to victims, and that further revelations are planned for the future. (Fiction. 12+)