MERIDIAN

Constantly wracked with pain, Meridian Sozu has always been surrounded by dead insects and animals. When she witnesses a car accident on her 16th birthday, the winter solstice, her parents abandon her, hastily sending her off to Revelation, Colo. Against this chilling backdrop, at the home of her Great-Aunt Merry, she discovers that she is a Fenestra, a half-human/half-angel “window” that helps souls pass to heaven. With the help of aging Merry, a fellow Fenestra, and Protector (and love interest) Tens, Meridian learns to develop her powers against the hell-bent Aternocti, or simply Noctis (a play on Nazis), and a local cult masquerading as an evangelical congregation they’ve infiltrated. Although this likable heroine offers a fresh take on the supernatural, the lengthy, repetitive explanation of her powers leaves interest waning. The rushed and confusing ending requires a second (or even third) read. Despite these major obstacles, teens will still find themselves intrigued by the mysteries of life, death and beyond and how they may have played out through history. (Supernatural romance. YA)