Language: G (2 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (implied sex); Violence: PG (Death kills by touch, poisonings)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Signa is born into a rich family; when she’s two months old, her mother Rima throws a party. No one realizes the wine is poisoned and baby Signa sees Death approach her mother before he moves onto the others who drank the wine. Signa is left alone in the home after Death tries to take her too but he sees her brilliant future instead of her short past, what he usually sees as he takes someone’s life. Now, at 19yo, Signa lives with Aunt Magda; Signa has lived with several relatives throughout her lifetime, but Aunt Magda is especially mean to Signa. Every guardian she’s had has died and she thinks it’s her fault and that Death’s taking people on purpose and because of her, but when Magda dies, Death appears once again and assures Signa that’s not the case. Signa is retrieved by her new guardian’s workers and taken to Thorn Grove where the lady of the manor, Aunt Lillian, is deceased and Signa’s cousin Blythe is ill; cousin Percy and Uncle Elijah seem healthy though. Sylas, the worker who brought her to Thorn Grove, helps investigate Lillian’s death; the two of them believe someone poisoned Lillian and is now poisoning Blythe and they want to solve the mystery before the poison takes Blythe’s life also.
I love the rich prose and beautiful descriptions of the scenery. I appreciate the fact that the book has very little swearing and vague details of sex that keep it out of the sensitive materials area. I enjoyed reading about the main character’s views on and dealings with proper etiquette and the setting is beautifully descriptive. The ethnicity is white and brown.
LynnDell Watson, Delta High School Librarian
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