Silence(The Queen of the Dead)Publisher: DAW, 2012Genre: YA Paranormal
“It began in the graveyard. Ever since her boyfriend Nathan died in a tragic accident Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there—Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death….”
Emma’s life isn’t the same since her boyfriend died. Life seems bleak, and though she still has friends, she no longer cares about anything much. One night while taking her usual stroll to Nathan’s grave, she meets Eric, the new boy at her school. With him is an ancient looking woman who gives her a lantern and kisses her, making her black out. When she wakes up, Emma discovers that she can see the dead! Eric seems to know a lot about her powers, but he seems reluctant to enlighten her. It'll be up to Emma to choose the path she wants to take with her powers.
As always Sagara's prose was excellent. I love her way with words, and this is what keeps me coming back to her books. Emma was a curious character to meet. She is oblivious about her true nature for most of the book, but at no point she freaks out. Emma tries to deal, and she does it with wit and a lot of dry humor. Eric was a charming romantic interest, as was Chase. Don't worry. This is not a love triangle, and there's not much romance going on. My only issue with these two is their reason for keeping Emma in the dark. It really bothers me when something has to be kept in the dark because 'something horrible' might happen and we can't tell you what that is either. Communication people! Communication is the key to everything.
The rest of the cast was a very quirky bunch. Emma is a great friend to all of them, and so she has their complete trust. There's Allison (introvert, observant and very cunning), Michael (a highly functioning autistic), and Amy (extrovert, and queen bee). Oh, and let's not forget Petal, Emma's Rottweiler. They all make the story come to life, even when the story itself starts to drag a little.
In the end, I wanted more romance, more info on the necromancers, and clearer definition of the magic being used. It's a quick read, drags a bit, but I think the story has potential. The last three lines in the book completely melted my brain and I MUST have the next book now to know what happens, but I still prefer Sagara's The Chronicles of Elantra ;)
Favorite Quotes:
“I know. I just—I shouldn’t have promised him that. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Yes, you were. You were thinking that you go through enough alone as It is. You don’t need to prove anything. You don’t know what you’re doing and neither do the rest of us—but we’ve always managed to come up with something when we work at it together. Besides, you’re going to phone Amy and tell her you don’t need her help?”
“Chase says that nothing can kill Amy.”
Allison laughed. “Probably not.”
