Parents' Guide to

Between the Spark and the Burn: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Book 2

By Julie A. Carlson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Conclusion of gothic series about female teen lacks oomph.

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If you thought Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was gothic and gloomy, get ready for its conclusion in Between the Spark and the Burn. Author April Genevieve Tucholke ups the eerie factor, and the narrative remains lyrical and haunting. Citizen Kane is the house where Violet and her family live; part of the pleasure of the story is the setting, with a stormy sea along a small windswept town, mountain villages with strange townsfolk, an abandoned hotel, and even an island filled with curses and sea monsters, and complex characters have names like Finch, Canto, Sunshine, and Pine.

Unfortunately, the novel loses steam, and the ending just kind of ... ends. It almost seems as if there should be a third book; readers will want to know a little more about what happens to Violet, River, and everyone else.

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