TRIS AND IZZIE

Torn between two boys, 16-year-old Isolde also finds herself caught between a normal life and her recently rediscovered magical legacy in this modernization of Tristan and Isolde.

Izzie lives a charmed life as girlfriend to basketball captain Mark King and a member of his “court” at Tintagel High. When she brings a “love potion” to school to help her lovelorn friend Branna and quash her own attraction to new boy Tristan, her matchmaking scheme backfires and leads Mark, Izzie, Branna and Tristan into a romantic quandary. Soon, Izzie must fight not only hormones but also monsters sent by the villainous Gurmun as she reclaims her magical powers and uncovers the truth about her father’s death. High school and high-stakes action blend poorly, and the quartet’s romantic problems often overshadow the fantasy plot. Moderately inventive worldbuilding gets lost amid teen–paranormal-romance clichés; Izzie’s apt complaint, “I had always though love triangles were lame,” is regrettably ignored. Though Harrison’s (The Princess and the Snowbird, 2010) update lacks the epic passion of the original tale—of which little mention is made—the blend of action, mythology and romance will probably find an appreciative audience anyway.

More High School Musical than Wagnerian sturm und drang. (Fantasy. 12 & up)