Romance, supernatural mingle in New Orleans-set YA novel

SHATTERED DREAMS

By Ellie James

St. Martin’s Griffin,

$9.99 paperback

It started innocently enough. A bunch of teenagers, a deserted house on Prytania Street in New Orleans. A game of Truth or Dare. Then, a prank is played on the new girl, 16-year-old Trinity Monsour, and it all goes wrong. The group ends up running away from the old house, screaming. Maybe they were just spooked, but no, someone is missing. It’s Jessica “the stupidly beautiful cheerleader.”

Everyone assumes it’s part of the prank that Jessica has helped engineer. She wants attention, and the beautiful Trinity is a threat to her status in the group. More tellingly, Trinity has attracted the attention of Chase Bonaventure, Jessica’s hunky, sometimes boyfriend and star football player at their school, Our Lady of Enduring Grace.

Since Trinity’s a newcomer, no one knows her secret — she has visions, dreams of real people in distress. Soon after Jessica goes missing, Trinity starts having visions of her locked away in a small room. She sees Jessica begging for her life.

As the mystery around Jessica’s disappearance builds, Trinity finds herself beginning to get a few answers about her own personal mystery: who were her parents, how did they die and why did her grandmother leave New Orleans and never return?

Then there’s her ripening relationship with Chase, complicated by Jessica’s disappearance. As much as she despises her rival, Trinity wants Jessica to come back so they can sort out their relationship with Chase. So Trinity tells her aunt about her dreams of Jessica being held captive and later, more detailed dreams about how she was taken. Aunt Sara calls the police, but much to Trinity’s dismay, when her clues prove accurate, they suspect her in the other girl’s disappearance.

What James, an LSU grad, has created is a Young Adult romance novel with supernatural complications (no vampires or werewolves, thank goodness). There’s plenty of hot gazes and some meaningful groping, but nothing too explicit.

James’ book is likely to appeal especially to teen girls.