LOOK BOTH WAYS

Meredith and Mallory are 13-year-old twins with unusual gifts: One can see incidents from the past, the other, the future. These gifts have both lured them into danger and helped them find their way out again (The Midnight Twins, 2008). They hoped their gifts would go away and leave them with normal lives as high-school freshman, despite their Grandmother’s explanation of their uniqueness. A vision that causes Mallory to wake up screaming as this sequel gets underway, however, demonstrates that this will not be the case. Here Mitchard weaves together two plotlines, one involving a sabotaged cheerleader and the other the plight of a Native American friend rebelling against her own gifts and ordained tribal position. The first is decidedly less interesting than the second, but the dual stories serve to highlight the differences between the twins. There are enough references to the first novel to pique readers’ interest, but this sequel stands on its own. The primary protagonists are well drawn and the secondary characters are intriguing. Rich details of family and community life add warmth and texture to this supernatural mystery. (Mystery. 12 & up)