FIREBORN

Hunters-in-training travel to the frozen wastes to defeat a great evil.

Phoenix (the tween formerly known as Twelve) has a new Hunter name and a shocking fire elemental power, but the world has changed for the worse since the great battle at the Hunting Lodge. When Headwitch Yelara appears, it’s the first contact any of the clans have had with the witches for 40 years, and she bears a dire warning. Phoenix and her friends Five, Six, and Seven, who read White, must journey to the great frozen wave of Icegaard to battle the Shadowseam, a terrifying hole in the world. The all-female band of witches have been entirely isolated in the decades since all the adult witches were killed by the Shadowseam; nevertheless, they have children (a diverse trio, one pale and blue-eyed, one olive-skinned, and one with dark brown skin and braids). Phoenix, trying to master her elemental fire and constantly trying to remember monster descriptions from A Magical Bestiary, doesn’t notice that Seven is acting strangely. Never fear, the reveal of Seven’s behavior at the end of this overlong adventure sets up Phoenix and Seven’s next adventure. Like Widge, Phoenix’s squirrel friend who exists only to chitter periodically on her shoulder, most characters feel like mere set dressing for Phoenix’s quest.

Sometimes entertaining but largely underdeveloped and forgettable.