Unbreakable

* 2013 BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL. * I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me. * When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, she doesn't realize that paranormal forces are responsible--not until mysterious identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into her room and destroy a deadly spirit sent to kill her. Kennedy learns that her mother's death was no accident, and now she has to take her place in the Legion of the Black Dove --a secret society formed to protect the world from a vengeful demon. A society left in the hands of a misfit group of teens with unique skills: Jared, combat trained, with a temper to match; Lukas, rogue hacker and code breaker; Alara, whose attitude is as powerful as her voodoo protections; and Priest, an engineer capable of making a weapon out of a soda can. As the teens use their individual talents to battle paranormal entities, they earn their rightful places in the Legion--except for Kennedy, who is left wondering if she is truly one of them. Can she stay alive long enough to find out--without losing her heart in the process? Protect Yourself. What you can't see CAN hurt you. * From School Library Journal Gr 8 Up-Since Kennedy Waters's father deserted the family a while back, it's just been she and her mother. Now, with her mother's sudden and gruesome death and a determined evil demon out to get her, Kennedy learns that her parents had hidden a secret from her. All alone, and with her home destroyed by the demon, the 17-year-old has no other choice but to fulfill a legacy that she didn't even know about until twins Lucas and Jared Lockhart showed up to rescue her. It seems that Kennedy is next in line to represent her family as a member of the ancient clandestine group called the Legion, which evolved from the Legion of the Black Dove, created to destroy the Illuminati. The original five members accidentally summoned an evil force determined to destroy the Earth, and their descendants have been fighting this demon ever since. Now with all of the present-day adult members ending up dead on the same night, Kennedy, the twins, and two other teens are the new members of the infamous league. Each Legion member has a special gift to use as an advantage in battle, but Kennedy doesn't realize her gift and questions her place in the group. Readers are quickly drawn into the action, from the murder at the beginning to the cliff-hanger at the end. It's the horror aspect more than the fast-paced intrigue, however, that is the book's strong point. The Legion members must travel from one terrifying location to another, and Garcia describes these chilling locations with flawless detail.-Sabrina Carnesi, Crittenden Middle School, Newport News, VAα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journal. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. From Booklist Kennedy’s world is turned upside down when her mother suddenly dies, a poltergeist attacks her, and she is rescued by Lukas and Jared—dashingly handsome twins who claim to be part of a long line of demon fighters called the Legion. According to Lukas and Jared, she is one of them, and before she knows it, Kennedy is swept up in their mission to evade the demonic forces that want them dead and track down parts of a mysterious device that will help them defeat evil once and for all. It gets spookier: the components are all guarded by ghosts haunting grisly murder scenes. The chills are plentiful and spine tingling in this mile-a-minute thriller as they travel from a haunted mansion to an abandoned magic shop, a ramshackle sanitarium, and even a death-row prison. Garcia (Beautiful Creatures, 2009) certainly doesn’t skimp on atmosphere, and the added dramatic love-triangle tension only ups the ante, as does Kennedy’s suspicions that she doesn’t really belong. Readers will anticipate the next installment in this eerie, macabre series. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Beautiful Creatures was a smash hit, and the Legion series is destined for a similar fate: the film rights have already been sold. Grades 8-12. --Sarah Hunter "Seventeen-year-old Kennedy Waters discovers she is a member of an ancient secret society formed to protect the world from a powerful demon determined to find a way out of his dimension and into ours. She joins the Legion on a mission to find a weapon that can defeat the demon"-- Provided by publisher