cover image Thief Eyes

Thief Eyes

Janni Lee Simner, . . Random, $16.99 (259pp) ISBN 978-0-375-86670-8

Adopting figures from Icelandic sagas, Simner (Bones of Faerie ) creates a captivating modern odyssey. A year after 16-year-old Haley's mother disappeared in Iceland, Haley, determined to find her, has persuaded her father to take her there. After Haley discovers an unusual coin, her father's co-worker Katrin, a distant relative of her mother, tells Haley that her mother was caught in an enchantment cast by one of their ancestors to escape an arranged marriage. Along with Katrin's son, Ari, Haley is swept away on a perilous journey to uncover her own role in the legends. Incorporating references to Star Wars and Norse myth alike, Simner is poetic whether writing about magic and sorcery or simply getting inside her characters' heads (“I think I am not quite used to being human again,” says Ari, after being turned from a polar bear back into a teenage boy. “I did not know it was possible to forget such a thing”). An endnote includes information about the sagas Simner studied while writing this story—the well-crafted result may encourage readers to do the same. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)