The Dark Divine
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

With its eye-catching cover (pale, slender legs with purple toenails entwine with purple chiffon on a black background), intriguing title, and the hook of werewolves in love, comparisons to Meyer's Twilight series are inevitable. However, Despain roots her story firmly in the faith of her protagonist's family. Sixteen-year-old Grace Divine is a pastor's daughter and has heard every joke possible about her name. But her family practices what her father preaches: community, caring, and forgiveness, including taking in a neighbor's abused child and raising him as their own. That boy, Daniel, and Grace fall in love, and when Daniel reveals that he is a werewolf, Pastor Divine searches for remedies while trying to keep his family safe. Though the romantic passages are predictable and characterization sometimes weak, Despain raises complex issues of responsibility and forgiveness and offers no easy answers. Atmospheric and compelling, Despain's first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated.--Carton, Debbie Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 9 Up-Grace, Daniel, and Jude were best friends until the night three years ago when Jude came home covered with blood and Daniel disappeared without a trace. Now mysterious happenings are taking place in the neighborhood. Daniel is back and Grace involves herself in his life again-but this time it's more than just friendship. Grace and Jude's father is a church pastor who lives his faith. Daniel had lived with the Divines for a time after being removed from an abusive father. When Daniel reveals to Grace that he is a werewolf, Grace and her father work to free him from this curse through their knowledge of a little known legend. But is Daniel or someone else responsible for those disappearances and animal mutilations? It is up to Grace and Daniel to make sense of that night three years ago and solve the new mystery. The story's saving grace is the role faith and forgiveness play in making this somewhat more than your average YA paranormal romance. Narrator Eileen Stevens provides plenty of suspense. Primary characters are well-defined and voiced, though secondary characters are fairly one dimensional. The mystery and energy of the story are heightened through Steven's use of pacing, breath, and pitch. The story drags somewhat in the middle, but builds to a conclusion that suggests a sequel.-Ann Brownson, Ballenger Teachers Center, Booth Library, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Years after Daniel ran away from his foster family in disgrace, he returns for a fresh start. Grace's feelings for him become more than sisterly as she begins to suspect Daniel is other than human. Grace's strong religious background and the complexities of her relationships add some depth (and theology) to this otherwise familiar story of human-girl-meets-supernatural-boy. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

With its eye-catching cover (pale, slender legs with purple toenails entwine with purple chiffon on a black background), intriguing title, and the hook of werewolves in love, comparisons to Meyer's Twilight series are inevitable. However, Despain roots her story firmly in the faith of her protagonist's family. Sixteen-year-old Grace Divine is a pastor's daughter and has heard every joke possible about her name. But her family practices what her father preaches: community, caring, and forgiveness, including taking in a neighbor's abused child and raising him as their own. That boy, Daniel, and Grace fall in love, and when Daniel reveals that he is a werewolf, Pastor Divine searches for remedies while trying to keep his family safe. Though the romantic passages are predictable and characterization sometimes weak, Despain raises complex issues of responsibility and forgiveness and offers no easy answers. Atmospheric and compelling, Despain's first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.

Gr 9 Up—Grace Divine, a pastor's daughter, doesn't think she lives up to the name that her father tells her means "heavenly help." Her brother, Jude, a church volunteer whose faith seems unshakable, has always seemed to be the more "graceful" Divine. When his friend Daniel returns to town after a long and mysterious absence, Jude recognizes Grace's attraction to him but urges her to stay away with unusual vehemence. Against his advice, Grace begins a relationship with Daniel, whose reluctance to discuss his disappearance piques her curiosity. As she attempts to uncover the mystery of Daniel's past, Jude discourages her investigations with oblique references to an ancient evil and a transforming curse. The novel builds to a dramatic climax involving the surprise revelation of a Divine family secret and a violent confrontation that suggests a possible sequel. Despain's first novel mixes romance and the supernatural and offers true love as the ultimate defense against lycanthropes. This long novel is a slow starter, but as Grace discovers unexpected local connections to the mystery of Daniel's absence, the pace picks up and the suspense builds. Although not a novel of Christian fiction, the book's thematic investment in faith and sacrifice distinguishes it from traditional supernatural romances.—Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston