A DIAMOND IN MY HEART

A superpowered Ohio teen fights to thwart a diabolical plan involving powerful amulets in Angell’s YA SF sequel.

Calli Courtnae begins her senior year in her Ohio high school with a diamond shard in her heart. Because of that shard, she possesses an array of cosmic powers; other cosmically gifted individuals, as far as she knows, can wield only one. She wants to use her hunter ability to track down Shadow Demons, which attack people with special abilities. The demons remain elusive, but she finds unexpected help from fellow high schooler Brand Safferson. He has a power that Calli strangely can’t identify allowing him to charm numerous girls and seemingly predict counterattacks during scuffles with guys. Not long after they connect, clan-leading “amulet wearers” begin inexplicably disappearing; their five amulets each contain another shard from that same diamond. Someone may be plotting to bring the shards together to extract the diamond’s full power; this could prove deadly, as touching the diamond will kill most people. And wouldn’t this plan require somehow getting the shard out of Calli’s heart? Angell’s sophomore installment opens up the Unaltered series’ expanding universe (Calli’s mentor Maetha provides a fair amount of exposition). This novel largely zeroes in on Calli and Brand as they search for a way to draw out Shadow Demons without getting the latter fatally mauled. The two form a gleefully curious relationship, becoming close friends in spite of Brand’s flagrant romantic interest that Calli doesn’t reciprocate (“If not for Brand’s insufferable personality, I would feel terrible for using him as my test subject”). Chances for Calli to display her abilities are minimal; she hides the full extent of her powers from nearly everyone, including Brand. But the final act gets a surge of suspense as subplots merge and Calli confronts several baddies. The ending unmistakably sets up the next installment, which will hopefully illuminate the mysterious individuals who pop up throughout this story.

Engaging characters (including a memorable young hero) fuel this paranormal thriller.