Demon In My View
by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
2000
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10-High school senior Jessica Ashley Allodola is a misfit and a malcontent. What no one knows is that she is also a writer and has just published a new book, Tiger, Tiger, under the nom de plume, Ash Night. Her books, written in a dreamlike trance, describe a vivid and detailed world of vampires and witches. Conversely, what Jessica doesn't know is that the books she assumes are the strange imaginings of her subconscious are, in fact, true. And the vampire inhabitants of that world are determined to stop her, while the good witches are just as determined to save her. Two of these preternatural beings appear in the guise of new students at Ramsa High: Caryn, a witch of the Smoke Clan, and Alex, the very real vampire Aubrey from Tiger, Tiger. The clash between the witches and the vampires and the truth of Jessica's birth take the plot down many twisting and suspenseful paths. Unfortunately, there are too many subplots and minor characters. The book comes alive when it focuses on the relationship between Jessica and Alex/Aubrey. The two lovers are finely drawn and believable. Their relationship is compelling and drives the story, as well as readers, past some confusing plot developments. Demon in My View is not as tightly plotted or generally as well written as Atwater-Rhodes's first novel, In the Forests of the Night (Delacorte, 1999), but it will draw horror fans.
Jane Halsall, McHenry Public Library District, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
