"She who has the boys, makes the rules."
A native Oklahoman, Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a graduate of Yale University. She wrote GOLDEN at the age of 19. She is currently doing further study in the UK.
Gr 7 Up-Among her group of friends known as the "Goldens," Lilah considers herself "Platinum." She is the head of the clique's female inner circle and is the girlfriend of the best-looking guy in school. Lately, however, she has been experiencing some less-than-platinum moments. Without warning, she drops into a trance where she is among three young women and three distinct and blazing rings of color. Even worse, she has started seeing the ghostly figure of a handsome boy who begs her to help him stop a cycle of murders of which he is part. Lilah calls on Lissy, introduced in Golden (Delacorte, 2006), and definitely a "Non," and her sister, Lexie, because of their mystical powers. Together, the three try to figure out the mystery of Lilah's trances and spectral visitor. Lilah's narrative bears the distinct influence of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, particularly in her heavy use of too-snappy dialogue. While the supernatural premise is intriguing, it is only one of two competing plots in Barnes's novel. The second involves Lilah's concern for her place as leader of the Goldens. Sudden spirit visitations and trances do seem to wreak havoc with one's ability to maintain popularity, particularly when at least one other person wants to be on top. The tension between the two plots is tenuous. When, at the novel's conclusion, readers discover that Lilah's haunting is related to the perpetual existence of an evil Helen of Troy spirit, the sudden mythology connection is too random to be satisfying.-Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
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