The Last Changeling

September 29, 2014
In a matter of weeks, the faerie princess Elora infiltrates the mortal world disguised as a dead runaway, in hopes of luring a teenage boy to bring peace to her realm. Instead she meets 17-year-old Taylor, an outcast at school and at home since the death of his brother, who innocently takes her in. In the first of a two-part chronicle, Elora and Taylor take turns narrating their backstories and illuminating their growing attraction amid more typical teenage problems like preparing for prom and not quite fitting in. Pitcher (The S Word) includes some topical material, including discrimination against gay students and a lecherous coach who ogles the cheerleaders, but spends far more time on the blossoming (and taboo) sexual tension between Elora and Taylor. However, the enjoyable, erotically tinged romp only skims the surface of the characters’ deepest flaws and concerns. For all of Taylor’s tremendous guilt over his role in his brother’s death, the truth behind the younger boy’s demise is anticlimactic,
and Elora’s history is given little ink. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sandy Lu, L. Perkins Agency.

January 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Elora, princess of the Dark Faeries, enters the mortal world disguised as Lora, a teenage runaway. Working to overthrow her mother, the Dark Queen, Elora must find a human offering in exchange for the Bright Queen's alliance before her mother's consort, Naeve, finds and kills her. Elora soon meets Taylor, a high school outcast wracked with guilt over his younger brother's death. Taylor feels an instant attraction, but Elora is simply looking for an in. However, as the two grow closer, Elora must fight her growing feelings for Taylor and her increasing affection for her human friends while she ensnares her offering and protects those she loves from Naeve. Pitcher's tale attempts to draw too many disparate elements together, leaving a story and characters that never feel fully fleshed out. Taylor and Elora's charged attraction is so immediate and inexplicable readers may fail to believe its depth. Other characters and plot elements have potential and address timely topics (the students organize a protest against the school's anti-gay prom policy) that tend to lose steam toward the end. Taylor and Elora serve as alternating narrators, but their inconsistent voices make it difficult to differentiate between them. Those looking for faerie lore will have better luck with Julie Kagawa's "Iron Fey" series (Harlequin Teen) or Melissa Marr's "Wicked Lovely" series (HarperTeen).-Kelsey Johnson-Kaiser, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
A faerie princess on a quest falls for an appealing teen who's grieving a recent loss. The Bright Queen's riddle sends her after a "leader of men" into the human world, where, to evade enemies from the Dark Court, she changes places with a dead girl. A changeling, she encounters Taylor, 17, and accepts his offer of refuge. Estranged from his parents following his brother's death, he now lives above the family's garage. He's equally alienated at school despite his good looks and soccer prowess, but Elora's arrival changes everything. In alternating narration, they chronicle their deepening mutual attraction. At night, she recounts her story, disguised as a fairy tale, but keeps her quest a secret. By day, they attend his high school, where Elora enrolls as a transfer student and continues her search, since Taylor doesn't fit her specifications. (The homophobic jerk on his soccer team's another story.) They find kindred spirits among the gay-straight alliance's smart, appealing social outcasts. It's a combustible combination-in a good way. If the plotting's occasionally far-fetched and Elora's story and character a tad derivative, Taylor compensates. Not your standard-issue, paranormal-romance hero, he's a believable teen with a sense of humor who doesn't notice his room's messy until a girl sees it. A series opener with appeal for fantasy fans, especially those at home with faerie conventions (think Seelie and Unseelie courts). (Fantasy. 13-18)

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