Nightshade

July 26, 2010
Based on a concept by the duchess of Northumberland, Wood (The Mysterious Howling) tells a passionate story of love, betrayal, and loquacious plants in this unique, slightly bizarre tale, first in a planned trilogy. Sheltered 16-year-old Jessamine lives with her domineering apothecary father, Thomas, in an austere cottage near an abandoned castle in late 18th-century England. Frequently left alone while her father journeys to London, Jessamine is thrilled when Weed, a taciturn teenage orphan, shows up. Weed has a vast knowledge of plants, which Jessamine learns comes from his ability to communicate with them. A sweet romance between Weed and Jessamine is threatened by Thomas’s desire for Weed to teach him about the poisonous plants in his garden. The story, slow at first, accelerates when Wood makes it apparent that Jessamine’s father is connected to her grave and sudden illness. The final chapters are a bit disjointed, as the first-person narration jumps between Jessamine, Weed, and the slyly evil Prince Oleander plant. Still, Wood does a marvelous job of creating heart-wrenching decisions for her characters and portraying a doomed romance reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. Ages 12–up.

September 15, 2011

Second of three, this fine paranormal gothic continues the tortured journeys of estranged teenage lovers Jessamine Luxton, a healer, and Weed, an orphan who communicates with plants.

Jessamine, possessed by preternatural Prince Oleander, poisons both her father (a murderous apothecary) and—collaterally—a visitor, Mr. Pratt. She flees Hulne Cottage; Weed arrives, sets the scene of destruction afire and pursues her. Oleander, who malevolently subverts Jessamine's innocence to engender his dominion, bargains her increasing submission for a vaguely promised reunion with Weed. She's transformed into a dissolute poisoner-for-hire and laudanum-addicted prostitute. Enmeshed in a plot to assassinate King George in Italy, Jessamine arrives in Padua. Weed has journeyed there, too, after fruitlessly searching England. Seeking clues about Jessamine from the wise plants in the University's Orto Botanico, he finds an extraordinary ally in the beautifully characterized Signora Baglioni, head gardener and keeper of a secret library of rare cross-cultural plant lore. Weed and Jessamine alternate narration, the pace of both accelerating desperately. Good and evil entwine at the King's debauched costume party, and Oleander's voice intrudes in a penultimate, riveting scene.

Promising Weed's continued pursuit (and, hopefully, reviving the intriguing issue of Mr. Luxton's poisoning), part three's sure to levy as much page-turning enthrallment as its predecessors. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-In this sequel to The Poison Diaries (HarperCollins, 2011), 16-year-old Jessamine wakes with the knowledge that her true love, Weed, has disappeared. She suspects that her apothecary father, Thomas, might have caused his departure. She begins to look for proof when she discovers her father's writings, confirming her suspicions: Thomas poisoned her mother, tried to poison her, and Weed is next. She must stop her father at any cost. Her actions drive her into hiding and closer to Oleander, the Prince of Poisons. Meanwhile Weed, who has gone into hiding in the forest, discovers Oleander's plot to take possession of Jessamine for his own and will stop at nothing to find her. Jessamine, now darkly wielding both the power to heal and kill, is faced with the question of whether anything is justifiable for love. The continuation of the story once again takes place in late-18th-century England, but Jessamine has become a much darker character, often making the wrong choices. The plot tends to take melodramatic turns at times, verging on the unbelievable. Wood quickly switches between the voices of Jessamine and Weed, which may become confusing to readers at times. Still, "Twilight" fans will like the mix of dramatic love story and the supernatural.-Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Stark County District Library, Canton, OH

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2011
Grades 8-11 Jessamine, recovered from the poisoning that nearly killed her at the end of The Poison Diaries (2010), is desperate to find her true love, Weed. With her apothecary father working against her, she calls upon Oleander, the evil force over the plants, to help but instead falls under his spell. In a dramatic conclusion, the young lovers are reunited only to be torn apart again, leaving readers eager for another chance at a happy ending. The lyrical writing is sweeping and evocative, pulling the narrative along at a clip that matches the intensity of emotion in this satisfying gothic fantasy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2012
Under the influence of the evil Oleander, Prince of Poisons, Jessamine (The Poison Diaries) commits murder and then flees. She is searching for Weed (who's also looking for her), but as she travels she begins to forget both Weed and who she once was. The prose is elegant, though too little happens--the opening killings excepted--to keep readers engaged throughout.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)