A PLACE OF VENGEANCE

A California teenage psychic faces an unseen menace among his fellow high-schoolers in Lafferty’s YA thriller, one in a series.

Ben Wolf has already made friends during his first summer at Windward Cove on the northern coast of California, where he and his mother inherited his late aunt’s house. But he’ll be mingling with all sorts of people in his sophomore year at Silver Creek High—like bullies, hotheaded jocks, and aloof peers. It’s not all bad, as he can always rely on his summer pals, Ab Chambers and Les Hawkins, and he grows closer to softhearted cheerleader Kelly Thatcher. A string of “freak occurrences,” including a disturbing bird attack, ensnares several of the Silver Creek students. Ben, whose clairvoyant abilities aren’t as strong as he wishes they were (“maybe I just sucked at the whole psychic thing. Sensing and watching was the best I could manage”), perceives someone’s unquestionable satisfaction when these occurrences end in injuries. He doesn’t know exactly who it is, but he has a suspect whose family history he and paranormal fanatic Ab delve into. Time is of the essence as these “accidents” soon escalate in intensity and threaten to target Ben and his friends. Lafferty excels at depicting a teen drama: The young cast is an eclectic bunch, some charming, some obnoxious, with many sporting vibrant personalities. As Ben gets to know other students at gatherings like the homecoming dance and post-football get-togethers, a malevolence slowly creeps into the plot. There are narrative stretches of uneventful scenes (including the first-semester holidays), and Ben’s general lack of worry (he doesn’t do much investigating) results in waning suspense. It’s in the latter half of the novel that the story really takes off, with a few shocking turns and sequences depicting Ben struggling to use his psychic ability to optimal effect. While Ben’s confident narration smoothly carries readers through the story, the best scenes center on individuals in peril as the narrative takes on a third-person perspective that feels like a brooding, evil presence.

Convincing characters drive this understated but absorbing paranormal thriller.