cover image Warped

Warped

Maurissa Guibord, Delacorte, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-385-73891-0

Time travel can be a difficult concept to execute well, but first-time author Guibord does a credible job negotiating the pitfalls. Tessa Brody, 17, is inexplicably drawn to a unicorn tapestry her father wins at auction. Whenever she touches it, hallucinations of the past draw her in. Meanwhile, the tapestry's maker, Lila Gerome, is determined to get it back. Centuries ago, she stole seven threads—each a mortal life—from the Norns. Lila needs the tapestry to maintain her immortality, and the Norns want their threads back to set the fabric of the world straight again. At the center of it all is the unicorn, woven of the life-thread of a man named William de Chaucy. An arrogant knight, Will is an unlikely match for a modern girl, but Tessa needs his help to unravel their mutual mystery before Lila can snatch the tapestry. Some may wonder why Scandinavian Fates would determine the destinies of an Anglo-Norman nobleman and an American teenager, but that in no way derails the adventure and romance as Tessa learns to appreciate her man of chivalry. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)