This was a really lovely book. I'm hoping there's a sequel - there would definitely be room for one.
The characters were sweet and real. They had their moments and moved through them like rational beings, no matter what danger they were in. They didn't do anything extraordinary that a teenager actually wouldn't do. It was very refreshing to read a book were the teens were overly nice, but quite normal too. The whole super-teen dealing with extraordinary circumstances with flair and precision gets sooooooooo boring. Puh-leez! As if! Go stand outside a high school one day and just watch... and the illusion vanishes. Teens know this too. They'll avoid books with over-perfect teens in them. It's just too surreal for them - like being discovered as the next supermodel/rockstar in the local grocery store. They'd daydream it, but honestly? It's not in their reality.
The main character, Laurel, is a faerie. These aren't your run-of-the-mill Fae in Grimm's Fairytales and the like that followed. Pike has created a beautiful new Fae world in which she's weaved old myths in charming ways. I could almost believe her view of the Fae world and the myths (I won't tell you which, it would spoil the story) are real and the fairytales I grew up with are wrong. Pike is just that good at weaving fantasy into reality. They merge seamlessly.
This book is full of mystery, danger and everyday life - as are the characters. It's a teen book, but I think any adult who loves fantasy or Fae would enjoy reading it.
