Review: Unsatisfying
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 2, 2014
This is a prequel to a novel, but it doesn't really satisfy on its own.  Vallon is a student at a magical academy -- it's like Harry Potter, except using their powers makes all the teenagers want to have sex.  Apparently the teachers and administrators try to block this, but they don't do it every effectively.  Anyway, there is a murder and Vallon becomes involved in the attempted cover-up.The mystery isn't much of a mystery and Vallon isn't a very interesting or sympathetic character.  She's spoiled, thoughtless, and impulsive -- not that much of a surprise for a teenage girl, but she is also boring.Note:  Doctor Who features a police box, not a phone booth.  This mistake would have been acceptable if the character identifying the box as a booth wasn't a Doctor Who fan, but we're told again and again how much Vallon likes Doctor Who (right down to the poster on her wall).  It's disturbing to read a book and realize that you care more, as a reader, about accuracy than the author does.