Fire in the Sea

Australian author Bartlett’s first novel, which won its publisher’s Text Prize in 2011, stars teenager Sadie Miller, who gets a swift introduction to an ancient battle involving gods, demons, and the potential for global destruction. Shortly after Sadie witnesses a fatal assault on an elderly man by a pair of “withered and horrible”–looking attackers, she is contacted by the man’s lawyer and learns that she has inherited his seaside estate in suburban Perth; she then encounters a gorgeous boy, Jake, who claims to be the dead man himself. Sadie finds Jake’s talk of immortality, reincarnation, and a cursed aquatic civilization difficult to swallow, but events—including the appearance of a powerful and violent minotaur—speak for themselves. While Bartlett has created an intriguing mythological backdrop, it’s the normalcy and believability of his contemporary Australian setting and characters that make the story work so well. Sadie and her friends behave like ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and their shortcomings and foibles make their moments of heroism feel all the more real. Ages 14–up. Agent: Barry Goldblatt, Goldblatt Literary. (Feb.)