13 Secrets

VOYA - Lucy Schall

This third book in the 13 Treasures trilogy delivers a page-turning mystery in a world jammed with human and fairy secrets that produce danger and treachery. Trying to leave her supernatural past, Rowan has discovered her true mother and is building a new life at Elvesden Manor. Fairy messengers draw her back to the Coven, a group of thirteen who bring back children replaced with changelings. The Coven members are disappearing in a pattern symbolic of the Thirteen Treasures. Rowan responds to the Coven call and inadvertently draws in second-sighted Tanya and her sidekick, Fabian, nonmembers who are trying to sort out their personal lives. As members die or disappear, the Coven learns that their enemies are more hidden, vengeful, and lethal than they suspected. False trails, shape-shifting, magical spells, monsters, and supernatural guardians will please trilogy fans. But the story's conflicting elements may limit that audience. The Coven members and the Elvesden residents sometimes perceive the dark evil surrounding them and their personal relationships with a childlike perspective that suggests middle school or younger. The many characters, convoluted plots, extensive exposition, and complicated fairy lore require a strong, patient, and usually older reader. If readers start with and stay through this story, which can be a stand-alone, they will probably seek out the first two volumes but will find a more consistent exploration of similar elements in Nancy Farmer's The Sea of Trolls (Atheneum, 2004/VOYA October 2004) and The Land of the Silver Apples (Atheneum, 2009/VOYA August 2007). Reviewer: Lucy Schall