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Promises to Keep
Cover of Promises to Keep
Promises to Keep
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The compendium of creations (SingleEarth, the Bruja guilds, the Midnight empire) intertwine in an exciting, unsettling plot featuring happenings both accidental and deliberate that will forever change the alternate landscape inhabited by vampires, Tristes, shapeshifters et al. It all begins with a wrong turn and a crashed party, and from there it's an epic clash of elements and the promise of more chaos still to come. At the center of the storm is Jay, a young vampire hunter that no one would ever have predicted might be earth's best bet to thwart the rise of a vampire-controlled slave empire called Midnight. Teens will find themselves drawn to Jay, who struggles to prove his worth even while he has his own fears that those who have written him off may be right to do so.
The compendium of creations (SingleEarth, the Bruja guilds, the Midnight empire) intertwine in an exciting, unsettling plot featuring happenings both accidental and deliberate that will forever change the alternate landscape inhabited by vampires, Tristes, shapeshifters et al. It all begins with a wrong turn and a crashed party, and from there it's an epic clash of elements and the promise of more chaos still to come. At the center of the storm is Jay, a young vampire hunter that no one would ever have predicted might be earth's best bet to thwart the rise of a vampire-controlled slave empire called Midnight. Teens will find themselves drawn to Jay, who struggles to prove his worth even while he has his own fears that those who have written him off may be right to do so.
Available formats-
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB eBook
Languages:-
Copies-
  • Available:
    1
  • Library copies:
    1
Levels-
  • ATOS:
    6.4
  • Lexile:
    910
  • Interest Level:
    UG
  • Text Difficulty:
    4 - 5


Excerpts-
  • From the book Chapter 1
    Present Day
    Jay's arms pinwheeled like those of a cartoon character as he tried to avoid tumbling backward down the cellar stairs. It looked silly, but it gave him enough momentum to throw himself forward instead. When he fell, his shoulder connected with the knee of the vampire, snapping the joint. An extra twist, and she was the one who fell down the stairs.
    He heard the impact of bones and flesh on rough concrete—then no more. Damn. That meant the vamp had disappeared, and would reappear momentarily to—
    You arrogant witch.
    The hostile thought from behind Jay gave him warning. He spun around, bringing his knife up as he did so.
    The vampire's black eyes widened in surprise as the slender silver blade slipped between her ribs and into her heart. A fall down the stairs hadn't hurt her, but even if the knife hadn't had three centuries of witches' power in the metal, this vamp wasn't strong enough to survive a heart blow.
    Jay pulled the knife away, and the late shopkeeper fell back, into a display of faux-Native American souvenirs—plastic dream catchers, miniature tepee tents, and other kitsch that had little connection to the Mohawk people this area was named after. A Santa Claus key chain, one of the few nods to the Christmas season, plunked directly into the pool of blood that welled up around the wound.
    Jay started to turn away, then hesitated. It was stupid—his kind didn't even celebrate Christmas—but he felt bad leaving the poor Santa sitting in the quickly drying blood.
    He rescued Saint Nick, brushed off the powdery remnants left by vampiric blood turned to dust, and returned him to his fellows on the shelf. Then Jay stretched out his senses.
    The storekeeper had been the last of three vampires Jay needed to deal with. One of the others was sprawled at the bottom of the cellar stairs, and the third was draped across the cash register. All of them were now permanently dead. From downstairs, though, Jay could sense the rising panic and hope of the victims he had come to rescue.
    What's happening? Is it more of them? Who are they fighting with? What's going on? The questions came, rapid and panicked, from two of the three shapeshifters. The third one's mind was sluggish and incoherent. Drugged? Or blood loss?
    Jay wiped his knife on his jeans, returned it to its sheath at the back of his neck, and then hurried downstairs, where he found the captives blindfolded, gagged, and bound.
    "I'm here to help," he announced as the two conscious shapeshifters flinched from the noise. "SingleEarth sent me."
    The SingleEarth organization was a multinational coalition of witches, shapeshifters, vampires, and humans. These three shapeshifters were students at one of SingleEarth's schools. When they had failed to return from a hiking-and-swimming day trip, SingleEarth had dispatched Jay to find them. After all, these woods were Jay's home, even more than the farm his family owned or the room he occasionally used at the local SingleEarth haven.
    He had expected to find the shapeshifters lost in the forests of western Massachusetts. He had not expected to find them imprisoned by three entrepreneurial vampires who had decided a supply of shapeshifter blood would be a good thing to keep on hand.
    Jay pulled blindfolds off and gags down but ignored words of thanks as he turned to the bonds that held the shapeshifters' wrists behind their backs. The vampires had tied each shifter in a way that held a length of rebar against his back, preventing them from shifting and escaping. No shapeshifter could change form with a line of steel next to his spine.
    The unconscious shapeshifter's pulse was slow and erratic, and his skin was clammy. He was close...
About the Author-
  • AMELIA ATWATER-RHODES's most recent novel is Poison Tree. She wrote her first novel, In the Forests of the Night, when she was 13. Other books in the Den of Shadows series are Demon in My View, Shattered Mirror, Midnight Predator, Persistence of Memory, Token of Darkness, and All Just Glass. The five-volume series The Kiesha'ra includes: Hawksong, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Selection; Snakecharm; Falcondance; Wolfcry, an IRA-CBC Young Adults' Choice; and Wyvernhail.
Reviews-
  • School Library Journal

    August 1, 2013

    Gr 9 Up-Strong-willed Jay Marinitch is a vampire hunter living in an intriguing world full of Tristes, shape-shifters, and other supernatural beings. Jay, 19, is a witch and part of SingleEarth, an organization whose purpose is to maintain the peace and keep the multitude of species in balance. In his search for answers surrounding the discovery of an unconscious woman, Jay accidentally releases an angry elemental, a being that "gain[s] power through the mortals bound to [it]," who is bent on revenge. He also uncovers disturbing information about the resurgence of Midnight, a vampire-controlled slave empire. To combat impending chaos, Jay partners with some unlikely allies. While full of mysterious characters, compelling mythology, and intricate plot twists and turns, this involved story can be confusing and leaves many questions unanswered. Readers should be familiar with Atwater-Rhodes's past works since previous characters are mentioned or make appearances, which can complicate things. Recommended for the author's fans.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY

    Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

  • The Horn Book

    July 1, 2013
    In a world where factions of supernatural beings claim patronage from ancient elemental spirits, Jay, a hunter and witch, accidentally releases an elemental bent on revenge for the enslavement of its people. The brimming plot is somewhat hard to track, but Atwater-Rhodes plunges readers into a fascinating world in media res, exploring difficult philosophical questions through a charmingly reckless protagonist.

    (Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

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    Random House Children's Books
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Promises to Keep
Promises to Keep
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
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