Firespell by Chloe Neill

A Blog with Bite YA feature
Purchased from Book Depository

Signet-Paperback, 256 pages

Book Synopsis:

When Lily’s parents decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago; she isn’t too hip on the idea. She finds herself at St. Sophia’s amongst the weird and snotty. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punch line of every joke, and the only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster. Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet… ………

Memorable quotes

Do you have any idea what wearing blue did for a boy with already ridiculously blue eyes………………add that to a face already too pretty for anyone’s good, and you had a dangerous combination. The boy was completely en fuego.

Page 133 (Lily’s thoughts on Jason)

Review

En Fuego….I love it…..and that’s about as on fire as this book got. Not to say I didn’t like Lily’s adventure I think Chloe Neill is a fabulous writer and story teller- but there were some problems in the book that I had a hard time getting past. First the book starts out a bit slow…I really didn’t connect until about page 98 and during those pages getting to that point I was having a serious case of ADD. Secondly the dialog of the characters seemed a bit off for teenage banter. I mean Scully and Phil Collins were old when I was high school and I’m no spring chicken. {Side note-Also what’s up with every YA character lately being a vegetarian….I mean Lily eats toast and a veggie wrap for a days nutrition- holy Moses that’s like a snack between lunch and dinner……..end side note}

Regardless, I was invested in the outcome of the book and found myself enjoying the meatier parts of the story. Once we get some background on what reepers are and the whole society living under the tunnels the story turns into one that is highly entertaining.

Lily is certainly a compelling and mature character for a YA novel. She struggles with being the new girl and with issues of parental abandonment. I loved the friendship between Lilly and Scout, which felt authentic. Another gift to Neill’s writing is her quality of friendships in her characters. As for the other characters, Jason (Lily’s potential) lacked depth and development. I mean he had smoking hot eyes but I felt that he didn’t connect to Lily and furthermore I didn’t see or feel the chemistry between them. Otherwise, the remaining characters like Scout, Michael and Ms. Foley hold out for hope of great side plots.

The ending leaves us readers with a huge cliff-hanger with many questions ........say why does Lily have the power she has, where the heck are her parents, when do we get to see Jason shift, why does there seem to be something up with Veronica, whats up with Ms. Foley...... and then not to mention all the love blossoming that's unresolved, which I’m sure will be addressed in the future installments.

Rating

I must give props to Ms. Neill in creating an entertaining read without the use of graphic language or sex scenes. Recommended for 13 and up.

3.5/5 YA- Paranormal

BWB Discussion Questions

1. Lily and Jason. Discuss. What do you think the next book holds for them?

Like I said in my review- I don’t think Jason and Lily had any chemistry apart from the fact that he is suppose to be really good-looking. I think the future could spice things up for them so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some sizzling chemistry induced installments.

2. Lily & Scout's friendship had a lot of secrets, so in the end who did you relate to more, Lily or Scout? How about Lesley or Veronica? Would you hang with the brat pack or be a loner?

I think I related to Lily more and only because she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders-apart from the hanging with the snots a few times- her choices seemed mature for her age. I really wasn’t like any of these girls portrayed in the book so saying I would make them my friends I guess I’d have to pick Lesley. When I went to high school it was so huge there really wasn’t a particular brat pack- I mean we had cheerleaders but you just had to find a group that fit you. I’d choose loner before I hung out with snobs. And let’s all be honest here- if your writing book reviews, you’re probably not the snobbish type…..(:D)

3. What do think of the overwhelming trend in YA literature where the parents of the protagonists are either- dead, strung out or shipping their children off to boarding schools? Do you think this is a real look at parents today and what teens are dealing with?

It would be nice to see more books handling this area with more reality. I think there are kids out there from very wealthy families who get sent to boarding school or tucked away in places where mom and dad are non-existent. But even if the parents are out of the situation most teens at least have a guardian of some type. YA is very unpopular for responsible parents I’ve only come across a few that showcased parents in a positive light- the best one being Impossible by Nancy Werlin.

4. Follow up to parental question. Authors employ the missing parents to mature their teenage protagonist. The protagonist doesn't have the option to act as an irresponsible teen, because they do not have any parental supervision. Did you find Lily's behavior normal for a teenager, or more mature than most?

I think she was a typical teen, perhaps a little more mature than the average high school gal, but teenagers do possess the ability to make good choices and know what direction they want their lives to take. My favorite part in the book was when Lily finally stood up to Veronica- it was awesome and took guts!!