By Aimee Agresti
Harcourt Children’s Books, $17.99, 528 pages
As the book begins on a frigid January day, we find high-school student Haven Terra called to the principal’s office. The principal tells her that she and two of her fellow honor students, Dante Dennis and her best friend, and Lance, a quiet boy from her AP European History class, will have the privilege of interning at the soon-to-open Lexington Hotel. When Haven, Dante and Lance arrive at the hotel, they meet the manager, Aurelia Brown, and her second-in-command, Lucian Grove, both of them tall, elegant and ridiculously beautiful. As Haven shakes hands with Lucian, a sharp jolt travels through her, and she begins to fall in love with him. But as the story moves forward, things become increasingly strange. The hotel’s underground nightclub has a blackout on opening night, a book appears telling Haven to beware all beautiful things, and Haven’s photographs of “The Outfit,” Aurelia’s personal squad, begin to change, showing rotting corpses where beautiful people once stood. What’s going on? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
I thought it was a bit difficult to truly immerse yourself in the beginning, but as the story goes on and you invest more time, you find yourself pulled further and further into the story. It is an interesting read with more than its share of plot twists.
Reviewed by Tee, Age 13
