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Blithe and flighty at the beginning, the protagonist and plot quickly darken and deepen in this fantasy and magical coming-of-age story set at Princeton. During Reunion weekend, a mysterious group of alumni offers high-school junior Lily Carter admission if she can find the Ivy Key and pass the Legacy Test. With the help of her dueling love interests—tiger-haired Tye and knightly Jake—and the gargoyles on campus, Lily finds the key, along with unexpected information about her late father, her addled mother and her esteemed grandfather. Discovering the key also triggers a war between the group that recruited her and the fantastic residents of a parallel world, whose battles engulf the campus. Durst deftly layers in mythologies, drawing upon the vaunted status of the Ivy League schools, students’ stories and superstitions, common tropes of fantasy literature and the propaganda of war. A refreshing entry in the urban-fantasy field and a solid adventure tale. (Fantasy. 12 & up)
