Author: Rachel Vincent
Publication: Harlequin (December 29, 2009)
Product description from Amazon: When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.
So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul.
The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can't possibly understand.
Kaylee can't let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk….
My Thoughts: I enjoyed this third (if you count the novella) trip to the world of the Soul Screamers. I really like the character of Kaylee. She is a typical teen who is constantly pushing at the boundaries her dad has set around her and doing what she has to do to follow her sense of what is right. I like her voice. I smiled at some of the comments that she makes. This one was especially good considering that I am an old Trekker:
"Great," I breathed, rolling my eyes. We were accompanying Tod-the-reaper-fanboy to meet his hero. It couldn't get any lamer without a Star Trek convention and an English-to-Klingon dictionary.We learn a lot more about bean sidhe and reapers. We also find out lots about the Netherworld. I chuckled at the notion of Dekker Media selling the souls of its young talent to increase its own bottom line. I'm sure that the resemblance to another large corporation starting with D and known for its famous mouse was purely coincidental.
Amazon says this a for ages 9-12 but I'd target it higher. Kaylee and Nash are getting close to developing an adult relationship which is another reason why her father is watching them so closely. There are a number of petting scenes.
I thought the book was excellent and will be eagerly waiting for June and My Soul to Keep.
Challenges: RYOB Challenge, 2010 Young Adult Book Challenge
