Customer Reviews:
 Courtesy of Teens Read Too April 27, 2007
TeensReadToo.com (All Over the US & Canada)
Sixteen-year-old Seph (Joseph) McCauley is a double orphan. His parents died in a tragic accident so long ago that he doesn't remember them. (At least that's what the paperwork says; Seph's pretty sure it's fake.) Not too long ago he lost Genevieve, the woman who raised him and cared for him. Since then he's been shipped from town to town, from school to school. The only thing that stays the same is the reason he keeps having to leave. Weird things happen around Seph--birds attacking, explosions, fires--and the last time, somebody died. Seph knows that if he could find someone to train him, he could control, or harness, or even use his magic. If it doesn't happen soon, he might just self-destruct. Literally.
His latest prison is an all-boys school in the middle of nowhere on the coast of Maine. Seph expected that the other students might be a bit different from what he's used to, but these kids are beyond weird. And the teachers, well, that's a whole other thing. Wonder of all wonders, the headmaster, Gregory Leicester, is a wizard, and wants to train Seph! It seems his prayers have been answered. But something still feels - off. The way the students behave towards the headmaster, the way the other teachers treat him, the "research students" in the special dorm... Leicester seems to want more than Seph is willing to give. A battle of wills, of frightening proportion, begins. The more Leicester wants him to do something, the less Seph is willing to give in. The only answer is escape or death. But what if escape is just the beginning?
Fun, exciting, non-stop reading. I didn't let it out of my sight until I found the time to finish it. I think I may have a crush on Seph. What can I say; I like the dark, edgy guys.
There is another book written by the author that fits in the timeline before this, called THE WARRIOR HEIR. That book is not at all necessary to read first. I haven't read it yet, and I really liked this book. Although you can bet I plan on devouring that one shortly! For readers of THE WARRIOR HEIR, I believe the main character is Jack, and rest assured he plays a big part in the second half of this book. Which gives me hope that Seph might turn up again.
Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman
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