| $@%&! level: Medium “Bedroom” level: Low Violence level: Medium-Low (but kind of disturbing, because it's school kids) Back Cover: “Spirit and her friends Burke, Loch, Muirin, and Addie have managed to defeat the evil force that has been killing students at Oakhurst Academy for the past forty years—or so they think. When a series of magical attacks disrupts the school, the headmaster, Doctor Ambrosius, calls upon alumnus and security expert Mark Rider to protect the campus—and to start training the students for war. Against whom—or what—the students don't know. As the only student without magic, Spirit doesn't trust Mark or his methods. She knows that Oakhurst isn't safe, and if she and her friends want to live long enough to graduate, they have to find out what is really going on—before it's too late.” |
I’m still fascinated by the structure of these stories, because in one way it’s a straight good versus evil battle to the death, which is always an exciting fantasy staple. But in another way it’s much more complicated than that because the two sides are mingling freely and even interacting socially with one another in a way that seriously builds the suspense and sense of ubiquitous danger. Spirit doesn’t take long to figure out who not to trust, but she has to keep acting like she’s clueless in order to keep from tipping them off. Incidentally, I really love the way they figure out to combat the enemy’s first weapon. In a school where everything is turned into a competition and friendships are strongly discouraged, it turns out that the best way to survive is to build covert relationships of trust, cooperation, and kindness.
Also, the Jensen Ackles look-alike made me laugh, although I also found it obscurely insulting to Spirit. Did they seriously think that was all it would take to turn an intelligent girl to the Dark Side?