SWEET SHADOWS

This second book in a planned trilogy about three sisters descended from Medusa brings Greek mythological monsters to the modern world.

Gretchen, Greer and Grace learn that they are the key generation that must either seal or unseal the portal to the abyss, perhaps unleashing upon the world monsters that have been kept in abeyance since the original Medusa’s death. Triplets who were adopted into wildly different families, at age 16 they have come into their powers. Gretchen has the most experience in fighting monsters and tries to train her sisters, but attacks from the underworld keep getting in the way. While much depends on knowledge from the previous installment (Sweet Venom, 2011), this sequel explains enough for new readers to follow the story, especially when the action picks up as Gretchen enters a mythological realm. Childs clearly has good fun with her monsters; she takes most from Greek mythology but throws in a few sympathetic beasts, such as Harold, the friendly, giant-spider school janitor. The three sisters share the narration in successive chapters, and although their personalities appear quite different, each speaks with a similar voice, so readers will need to note the names heading each chapter. The author finds plenty of material in the myths yet keeps her tone light enough and her main characters contemporary enough to please her target audience of teens just moving on from Percy Jackson.

Entertaining.